When Sally came to her first Kaiut Yoga class several years ago, she had already undergone several back surgeries but was still having back pain, especially after going on the long hikes which she loved to take. Life had also taken a toll elsewhere in her body: She had undergone both right and left hip replacements as well as surgery to repair a major muscle tear. Sally soon became a dedicated Kaiut Yoga student and quickly began experiencing benefits from her practice, gaining increased strength, mobility and freedom from pain.
I’d kind of beaten myself up…but Kaiut Yoga was helping me get healthy.
Then came April 2020, when Sally was in a tractor accident in which she broke her pelvis. Her recovery from the accident was further complicated by having to undergo shoulder surgery. In the hospital after her accident, Sally was unable to receive visitors due to the COVID pandemic. Alone in her hospital room, she began almost immediately to use her Kaiut Yoga practice:
I could do things in bed, you know, just little things, to move around. I tend to want to do everything beyond my capacity, which is my nemesis, so not allowing myself to try too hard was very important. I knew how to move, but I also knew how to wait.” In addition to the practice she was able to do in bed, the knowledge that she would have the full practice of Kaiut Yoga available to her just as soon as she was ready to return to class was a great comfort: “Just knowing I had yoga to come back to helped my mental health.
Sally reflects on her recovery since her accident: It’s been quite a battle—four solid months of rehab and different states of repair. And, indeed, Sally is repairing, returning to class with her arm still in a sling just three months after her accident!
I have come a long way, but without yoga I don’t think I would have, because my body was already strong from yoga, my joints were strong. Yoga has brought me a lot of strength and resilience…I’m stronger. I’m a believer!