Finding True Strength
Monthly guest blogger, Leah Silverman shares her thoughts on pain, progress and true strength.
I woke this morning with pain in an odd part of my lower back, possibly an unwelcome result of spending too long in the recliner last night instead of standing at my desk as I am now. Whatever the cause, I hope the yoga practice I’m planning for tonight will alleviate it. I’m going to skip the recliner for a while.
‘No Pain, No Gain’ may be short-sighted. What if pain is a messenger?
Yoga can help us recognize the differences between effort and pain.
Being in pain today reminded me of the tee-shirt my son received from a Marine recruiter at his high school. It was a prize for doing twenty pullups, and it says: “Pain is weakness leaving the body.”
It’s a great catchphrase, conjuring as it does those tough, stoic movie heroes who endure stitches or bullet removals without so much as a grimace. The idea behind it is certainly compelling, being able to shed our weakness like sweat. It goes hand-in-glove with “No Pain; No Gain,” a mantra repeated in gyms since the dawn of time.
The thing is, pain isn’t weakness. Pain is your body’s way of drawing attention. But like my kid hauling himself through twenty pullups, there seems to be a common attitude that the more pain, the more gain and less weakness. If you’re not stumbling out of the gym like a drunk baby giraffe, you haven’t been doing it right.
The Sutras Attributed to Patanjali state, “Asana is to achieve a state of steadiness and ease during practice, embracing the polarities.”
Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.46
This is short-sighted thinking, and even dangerous. Pushing yourself too hard, too often, can damage your tendons, muscles and bone. You don’t have to be in agony to gain strength, flexibility and health. One of the many excellent things about Yoga is how the right instructor for you will meet you where you are, while challenging you to push a little harder, try a little more, aim a little higher each and every time. The goal is to extend your comfort zone, but never to be in agony.
Yoga teaches the body and the mind. The practice of yoga helps you recognize and honor your body’s signals. You learn to find your edge skillfully without compromising your health or safety. When a pose hurts too, much my instructor has me do a modified version, or even try something else. Yoga teaches us to pay attention to our bodies, and that includes when it hurts.
Yoga is not about touching your toes, it’s about what you learn on the way down.
Jigar Gor
Pain is not weakness; honoring our own needs is a strength.