Meet yourself where you are

A common theme in yoga is to meet yourself where you are.  This is about your ability and willingness to sit in a place that is uncomfortable. This could be both physically and emotionally. In yoga, each time you come to your mat, you may look and feel a little different than any day before.  We are formed and influenced by different experiences and our mind and body take this on moment to moment.  Today, Triangle feels one way, tomorrow it may feel another.

And isn’t this true about life?

So where was I meeting myself after my Achilles injury?  I was fortunate enough to have surgery less than 24 hours after the rupture.  A cadaver graft was delivered over night for me from Nashville, Tennessee.  I secretly wished it was from a former Olympian – thank you for your generous donation. 

I was smiling and joking before surgery asking that my picture be taken in my cool gown.  It was a quiet Saturday morning in the regional hospital where Tim worked, and I felt like a celebrity because everyone knew me. I was feeling excited about already taking the first step to recovery.  The surgeon told me afterward that my Achilles looked like a mop (yikes!), but the repair went very well. 

So where I was, is not where I wanted to be.  My right foot was in a splint, wrapped tight with a ball of medication dangling from it.  I had crutches but needed to elevate for a week.  I was told to be very careful of a fall.  Any weight on the foot at this time would be devastating.  The long road to recover had already been laid out for me.  It was Spring and I was ready to play outside and continue my fitness program, the one that got me into this mess, but I had to meet myself where I was.  And so I did.

I was told it would be four to six weeks before I would be walking in a boot (or driving) and six months before I would be back to my full activities.  However, due to my current health and fitness level, the recovery period could be shorter.  Working backwards from there, I knew that to keep my sanity, it would be important to take one day at a time.  This sounds terribly cliché, but I cannot say enough how important this was. 

During that first week, I started thinking of each day as a singular moment in time.  Truly understanding my yogic lesson, each day was going to be different than the one before and the one to follow.  I had to make some adjustments.  I had to appreciate the new me, even though physically it wasn’t the me that I wanted.  I knew, in large part because of my years of practicing yoga, that I would not let my mind be taken over by my physical circumstances.  I was ready to make this work. I was ready to get the most out of this time. I was ready to move one step closer, each day, to my recovery. 

Meet yourself where you are.  Hello splint, hello crutches, hello couch. Let’s make it a great day. 

Fast forward. Meet yourself where you are. Hello grief, hello sorrow, hello heartbreak. Let’s make it a great day.

Fast forward. Meet yourself where you are.  Hello “stay at home,” hello global health crisis, hello cancelled events. Let’s make it a great day.