Style My Yoga
When I was 16 I jumped off a 20+ foot roof and broke my back. It was a very bad accident. (I was a kind of a wild kid). I suffered a compression fracture of my L2 Vertebrae and lost 25% of the L2 in compression. I landed on my rear end in a really bad way. I was in a wheel chair for a month and brace for another 3 months. My doctor told me I could expect severe back pain for the rest of my life and be potentially crippled in my late 30′s early 40′s.
I knew for a fact that was not going happen but I did not know what was.
One year later, I met Guru Prem Singh at Darshan Yoga Studio. He took a look at me and said the exact same thing as the doctor. But he also said he had a solution. Two hours of Ashtanga yoga per day 5 days a week. He said I could rest on
Saturday.
This was my kind of healer. I was so pissed off at the thought that I could be crippled; but I also knew they were right.
Guru Prem told me to go study at the local studio but I was too far. He was kind enought to give me his book Ashtanga Yoga by David Swenson and studied from the book until I could reasonably do the Primary Series.
If you think of the Ashtanga series, it is all about lengthening the spine. What I had done in breaking my back was the exact opposite. I compressed all my vertebrae in an extreme shock. As I realized the real need for deeper instruction, after about 4 months of 10 hours per week of Asana, I bought 2 of these videos, now on DVD by Richard Freeman.
9 months later I met up with Guru Prem Singh in New Mexico at Summer Solstice . This is a gathering of all the kundalini yogis in June. Here is an introductory video of it courtesy of 3ho.
It was bitter sweet. We did the primary series from start to finish. He was shocked and I was lucky to have met him. The major bend in my spine was gone. I could easily get into baddha padmasana (bound lotus).
One of my friends practiced with us that day. He was hurting for 2 weeks after that and Guru Prem & I were trying to lay out a practice plan for him. I never notice my back at this point and I ran the LA marathon in March. It is amazing that in less than 5 seconds I could mess up something that would take 9 months to repair. And even that was miraculous.
Much of what Guru Prem taught me ended up in his book Divine Alignment that came out that next year. This book is especially good for understanding the conection between breath, posture, projection, and total balance.
So to make a short story long, I started my morning with the primary series while I listened to Pure Ganesh
Thank you for your inspiring story. It bring a sense of reality to what healing powers yoga has. I think I should check out this book by David Swenson.
Your blog is really nice. gurumeher.wordpress.com
I love your pictures
Thank you. Your story is very powerful. It shows what dedication to breath and practice can do for your life. I do Sat nam every morning and Dharatee at night. Clearing for better sight into consciousness, living through intentional breath.
blessings to you
Mischa