They are the lyrics from a Lumineers song….that is definitely something I have been doing over the past year! Perhaps not by choice in some instances, but something I needed to.
I dislocated my shoulder and ripped the cartilage in June 2024. I tore my muscles in my shoulder in spectacular fashion in the ocean. This incident led to a tow in from the surf. It resulted in an emergency trip to the hospital and shoulder surgery some weeks later in July 2024. I had to slow it down, even though I didn’t want to. My body was asking very loudly for rest, and it received it.
I was not always the best patient! Some tears of frustration in there…my mother came in from PNG to help me. In between pain relief, drowsy days, I left one job opportunity to pursue another, placed yoga teaching on hold and slept. My doc was concerned about me slipping into depression as someone who has to work to manage my mental health. I was also worried for a little while there. An injury makes me ever so grateful for sleep. I am also grateful for movement when it is time to move. To be able to brush my teeth was a privilege. I am lucky my arm still works! I have a greater appreciation for walking, running, jumping…what I used to take for granted before.
In between painful physio, I started to teach yoga again, drive again, life started moving again..I shaved my head. I spent time with my family. Life happened, and I moved from where I lived for 9 years into a new home.
I read that 2025 is Chinese Year of the Snake. Year of shedding new skin and starting over. My year of shedding my old skin started last year! Shedding my old shoulder, job, home, hair in 2024! I now have a new shoulder, gig, home and my hair is growing fast…so yes, I can attest to fresh starts and new beginnings. I don’t particularly like change! Yet, change is the only constant there is.
A constant has been my beloved people around me, holding me, holding space for me. Yoga has been a constant thread, not the physical practice, definitely meditation and breathing exercises. I am thankful for prayers, love, and the physical pain of my shoulder (kind of grateful for pain haha). It helps me appreciate the sweet parts of life because there are many.
And so I leave you with this thought….what is carrying you and holding you when life shifts and changes? There are periods of expansion. There are also periods of contraction. It’s like your breath expanding your body with your inhale. Then it lowers with your exhale. The last 12 months have felt like a quiet period of immense change.
When life hands you unexpected changes, let it.
Keep breathing and flowing…change is the consistent thread through life along with your yoga practice, if you let it.
There is much beauty in change, in pausing and transition which creates space for new beautiful moments. You are ready to move to the next chapter of your story. xo
