Seven years ago I was stressed out, had chronic pain throughout my body, and terrible headaches that started behind my eye that moved down my neck all the way down my arm. My jaw was tense, I used the computer way too much, and had little to no tools on how to deal with stress. After visiting many doctors, having an MRI, meeting with physical therapists and sports therapists, I still had no solution better than pain killers. One doctor even diagnosed my pain as fibromyalgia and wanted to start me on antidepressants. Sadly, no one ever asked me about my lifestyle, my diet, looked at subtle physical misalignments or the amount of stress in my life.
It was around this time I started going to donation based yoga classes in a packed studio in New York City. I would struggle through the one hour class waiting for that brief moment in savasana, the final resting pose, when I could experience peace. The pain in my body would subside, my busy mind would quiet down, and I could have a glimpse of my true nature aspeaceful.
When I became a yoga teacher three years ago, I vowed to help others heal chronic pain in theirbody, the way my teachers had helped me. Over the years I have cleared misalignments in mybody through yoga and dramatically changed my lifestyle to eliminate the high stress levels I was experiencing. I attended workshops and trainings on therapeutic yoga with Sianna Sherman, and really came to have a deeper understanding of my body. I no longer felt helpless, because when pain arose, I knew how to clear it.
When I moved to Sebastopol, I found fellow Anusara trained teacher, Mark Lundbeck. Mark has experienced similar profound healing in his own body through yoga, and even spent 12 years in Tahoe incorporating yoga principles of therapeutics into physcial therapy offices in Tahoe.
For the last seven months I have been attending Mark's private therapeutic sessions, diving into the world of biomechanical alignment principles and seeing profound empowerment and physical change in his clients. Through these sessions I have learned so much about my ownbody and have become a better teacher to my students.
I'm proud to be leading my first therapeutics workshop with Mark this Sunday at Alive Yoga. If you are interested in clearing pain from your own body (from misalignment or injury), want to deepen your understanding and practice of yoga, or are a teacher and want to gain more knowledge for your students, I highly recommend you attend.
Love, Meredith
P.S. You can also watch my video, 5 yoga poses for headaches
