Day 11: EDS: The Yoga Connection

    
    One of the primary tests for determining if you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) evaluates your hypermobility.  Hypermobility, or an increase in the range of movement of which a body part and especially a joint is capable (Merriam-Webster), in the case of EDS is caused by a defective collagen protein that leads to weakened connective tissues.  My tendons and ligaments are not strong enough to hold things in place.

    This was never more apparent in my life than when I began to participate in and teach yoga as I approached my 40s.  It all came so easily to me and I thought I was just naturally gifted at it.  I guess in a way that was true, but that gift came with a price.  It didn't take long for me to start sustaining injuries.  I reasoned them away as having not warmed up enough or that I was practicing too much.  The truth was my weakened connective tissues were tearing, and because of their faulty collagen they were not healing quickly or fully so the injuries were compounding on one another.

    Covid actually saved me in a lot of ways.  One of those was the cessation of yoga classes.  While I maintained some level of home practice, I wasn't doing nearly as much yoga or pushing my body nearly as far.  Still, much of the damage had been done.  

Here's the thing:  Being hypermobile made yoga easier and more accessible to me, but it also made it more dangerous.  Even with the consequences, I will always look back on my time doing yoga with fondness as it taught me so very much.  I just know now that if I ever get to do yoga regularly again, it will have to look very different.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflections on Having a Brain Tumor

Image
  Picture     So how does one live with a brain tumor?  Honestly, I'm still trying to figure that out.  My doctor seems to think that it shouldn't be a big deal.  He's like, "See you next year!" and here I am trying to understand what that looks like.  I have this thing in my brain, embedded in my Cerebellum to the point that my surgeon cannot safely remove it. It *may* be affecting my vision, nausea, balance, etc., but really, we can't know for sure.  I guess the reality is that I should just go about my business, continuing life to the best of my ability, until I bump up against the tumor.  That might look like an appointment with an MRI to check its status, like I had a couple of weeks ago, or it might be symptoms that make me question whether the tumor is affecting things. I have no way of knowing when or if that might happen, except for a scheduled appointment of course, so I have to figure out a way of living life that takes that into account.       The
Read more

Guest Post: How are you doing?

Image
  How are you doing?   TLDR; I’m fine… I’m good   I have been more aware lately when asked how I am doing. I often dislike that question as I know the expected answer is supposed to be something along the lines of, I am fine.   That is far from the correct answer, and it bothers me equally answering falsely as much as it bothers me when someone is asking me how I am doing and not actually caring how I am doing.   I believe that most people do not do this intentionally, just that it has become so habitual that it is part of who they are.   I challenge you to either stop using that introductory phrase, or to immediately follow up with an affirmation that you really do care how someone is doing. Let them know that you have a few minutes and really do want to hear how they are doing, and how you can at least pray for them. If stopping to hear how someone is doing is out of your comfort zone, why not try being honest when you are having a really crappy day, week, month and briefly let
Read more

The Call That Changes Your Life

Image
We see it in movies and TV shows, but we always hope it will never happen to us. The phone rings and it's someone unexpected, a police officer, a relative, a doctor. They give us news we weren't expecting, and from that moment on our lives are forever different. And it's not just our future that's different. We begin to define our past as "before"and "after" this life changing news.  I got the call last Monday, February 27th, 2023. Ironically, it came just two days after the anniversary of another one of those calls, the one letting me know that my brother had died unexpectedly at the age of 40, two years ago. This time it wasn't my Mom calling, it was the ARNP from my neurologist's office. She was calling me at 5:30 at night the next business day after I had had a brain MRI. Right away I knew this wasn't going to be another, "Everything looks fine, we don't know why you're in pain all the time," call. That n
Read more