I have been ultra-sensitive to all issues surrounding my right arm lately. It entered my consciousness the other day when trying to do a reclining backbend over a block that I'm developing a frozen shoulder on that side. Certain positions above my head cause an intense stabbing pain. This is the exact sort of pain I had in my left arm when it was frozen, at the time of my breast cancer diagnosis. In certain positions the sudden and intense pain that the arm would send coursing through my body would literally throw me to the ground screaming. It was like an electrical current zapping through me. It took many many months of dedication to my physical therapy (2-3 hours a day working on painful arm stretching exercises), but with my dedication I was able to bring my arm back to about 80% of its original range of motion. Today I have very little to no limitation due to the frozen shoulder. I do have limited motion due to the mastectomy and losing a pretty large chunk of underarm tissue through that.
Now that I'm aware that my right arm is developing the same condition, I can recall that I've been feeling this for the past couple of months. I think the yoga has been quietly helping me work through it, and that is why it is not any worse. So I am finding ways to reproduce the painful positions and then holding them for minutes at a time throughout the day.
If it weren't for my yoga, I would be ignoring all of the signs of this problem and I would be having to deal with a much more serious issue. The more I discover about what yoga does fo rme, the more I can't imagine what life is like for people who are slowly losing their strength, balance, and range of motion through their aging and who won't ever know it until it's too late.
If I had to change the world with only one thing, it wouldn't be to impose my religion on everyone, or my political views, or my moral views. It would be to give everyone yoga.
