Sol Yoga Studio is located in Conshohocken, PA
In my last blog, I referenced my torn rotator cuff injury that I have been healing since January. As this has been an ongoing journey for me, I am still learning SO much. And one thing that really comes to the forefront, is that there is no place like Sol. I know I may be biased but Sol is my home. Sol is my therapy, my church, and my chiropractor. It’s my safe place to go to sweat and let go of everything else.
My uncle, who has had two shoulder surgeries, kept saying “You should go to Bikram while healing your shoulder. There are no downdogs, no planks. It is easy on the shoulder joint.” So I went a couple of weeks without my power practice trying to heal the shoulder, and my stubborn ass decided to take him up on that.
What is great about Bikram is the consistency, right? You know each class is exactly the same. You know you are going to sweat your tail off. 90 minutes in a 105 degree room. Whoa. Torture is more like it. You know you are going to do 26 postures, each one twice. Great. Doesn’t sound that bad… until you’ve done it. And it is exactly opposite of what you are used to.
What I realized after taking a couple of classes is that I hated it. Every time I left, I felt dehydrated even though I try and drink over 100 ounces of water a day. I felt angry, like why did I just do that to myself? And I felt like I wanted to sleep the rest of the day. Bikram didn’t leave me feeling happy after class. Period.
I missed the smiles. I missed the flow. I missed the up dogs and the down dogs, the vinyasa. I missed the friendly, bright atmosphere. I missed people saying hi. I missed the chatter after class. I missed the 60 minutes. I missed the variety. I missed smiling instructors. I missed Sol.
And the things I missed that I mentioned above is exactly what Sol is all about. The feedback we hear most is that they love the friendly atmosphere at Sol. They love that we laugh in class and we have fun. And I can tell you, every time people leave class at Sol, they are in fact a lot more smilier (if that is even a word) then they were when they first walked in the door. And that is huge. That means we are spreading our passion for this practice. We are sharing what we love and we are making people feel better and less tense in this stressful world we live in. People leave class a littl calmer, lighter and happier.
I decided it was time to get back at it. Get to Sol 3-4 times a week like I had been before my shoulder injury started weighing me down. Enough with my home practice which was always distracted by chores I needed to do or dogs I needed to get out for a walk. My first class back felt AMAZING. So amazing that I balled my eyes out in pigeon. And it felt pretty damn good.
What I realized that even with a shoulder injury, there is still SO much I can do in this amazing power practice! So what I can’t do side plank without a knee down. Even though I have done side plank without a knee down for the past 15 years, who cares. “I am home.” So what I can’t wrap my arms in eagle. I’ll just find a way that eagle works in my body and I can still get the most out of the pose. “I am home.” So what if extended side angle on the injured shoulder side doesn’t feel comfortable, find a version that does, maybe using a block. “I am home.” It is really about modifying to let your body feel good! Yoga is not about how deep you can go. It is about moving your body to create more space in it and using the breath to connect those movements together. All while working together to create mindfulness and be in the present moment.
