This year was my first time experiencing Wanderlust, a festival of yoga set amidst the glacier mountains in Whistler, BC. Included in your pass, is three events daily, ranging from yoga classes, stand up paddle boarding, hiking, workshops, speakeasy’s, and meditation. Being the over achiever that I am, and drawn to physical exertion; naturally, I signed up for nine power yoga classes over the course of three days. Each yoga class is 90 minutes in length, so in total that is 4.5 hours of strength based, sweaty yoga each day.
BRING IT ON! Or so I thought.
Day 1, Power class #3 during a wide legged forward fold ( this should be stretching not strength building ): intense burning pain in my right lateral hip shooting down into the lateral aspect of my foot……..
I knew what was happening. I had over done it. When have I ever practiced this much strength based yoga in one day? The answer is never. Usually, one would balance their strength based training with a restorative based practice, to balance the Yin and the Yang aspects of the body.
What goes up must come down.
AH, Newton’s third law of motion. Yes, it does still apply here.
My point here is this: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Pain is the body’s way of communicating to you that something is wrong. Pain translates into many different sensations, sometimes extremely difficult for one to describe. ” Something hurts” or “something is not right” or ” OW!” but the common denominator is pain.
It doesn’t matter which activity you are doing or not doing, maybe you are just tired, but please prevent further damage and listen to your body. Ask yourself, “what would best serve me right now?”
So, I signed up for Replenish and Restore, a yin based practice. Did you see the pigs flying?
Day 3: Meditation and two Power classes ( one in black light with glow sticks and war paint I might add for added coolness effect) The result? I made it out the other side of Wanderlust with a clear head, a healthy body and an acroVinyasa practice that would not have happened without happy hips thanks to the yin
I will continue to remind myself this lesson. Set the ego aside and let pigs fly!
