Athletes Overcoming the Setbacks of Injury

Sports injuries can take a major toll on the body, as well as on the psyche of an athlete. Repetitive motion, hard impacts and pushing the body beyond what it is trained to do puts our bodies at higher risk for serious damage.

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Meet Jessica T. Storms, Yoga Fit Boutique's newest yoga instructor. Over the past three years Jessica has experienced increasing shoulder pain. As a seasoned athlete, she pushed through the pain until it finally became unbearable. As it turns out Jessica had torn her rotator cuff (the collection of tendons and muscles that attach the upper arm to the shoulder). Her injury is serious enough that even after surgery Jessica may not be able to return to her full yoga practice for a whole year.  This has been very difficult news for Jessica because yoga is her passion. 

When Jessica began teaching, she found a great sense of stillness and freedom from depression, over thinking and negativity. "The clarity I felt after practicing made me feel alive and less complicated. I fell in love with the breath and meditation through my practice," said Jessica.  

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After a period of rehab and rest, we are happy that to announce that Jessica is ready to start teaching off of her mat through verbal instruction so that she can share her passion with you. We hope you will join her Thursday and Friday mornings at Yoga Fit Boutique for her 6:00 am Vinyasa Flow and her 7:30 am Slow Flow classes.  

Alignment is important in the prevention of injury. At Yoga Fit Boutique we have small classes so that we can take the time to watch each student and are able to help you with positioning to adjust to how your body moves to keep you safe from injuries. We are able to actually teach rather than just saying, "go to the wall for an inversion."  We will guide you step by step and provide modifications based on the appropriate level for you. Each body is built differently and our anatomy determines to an extent how we will move.  

Intuition is perhaps your best guide to staying safe and preventing injury. If you are in touch with how your body feels and you let go of the ego, you should stay safe. If, however, you do suffer an injury, use the time to grow in knowledge and in spirit.  Read and journal. Have faith that this too shall pass.  

Health & Happiness,

Libby

How to Reduce Stress and Live a Better Life

We live in a world that is overly glorified by busy schedules and chaos. Even our children’s days are packed with scheduled activities and we need a daily planner just to know which child needs to be where and when. This leaves very little time for rest and pure relaxation, let alone creativity. 

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In my humble opinion, and please feel free to share yours (this is an open conversation), WE are out of control as a society. It seems people schedule themselves months out for meetings and social events almost as if it's a status indicator.  What happened to the laid back dog days of summer? The sipping of tea or lemonade on the porch and watching the kids play in the yard? Yes, now we are spending more time on our phones while driving carpools here and there.  Very little time is spent spontaneously enjoying the little things. 

Stress is killing us. It is literally a contributing factor in so many diseases, including obesity and lupus, which costs our society billions of dollars in medical bills and countless hours of non productivity, which in turn feeds back into our never ending cycle of stress. So the lesson is that we need to S-L-O-W down as parents and allow our children to do the same. We are in control of a lot of the stress and we need to take responsibility. 

You will not find my kids in more than one sport per season. You will not find me scheduling social events months in advance. I am simple. I like it best that way. I have learned that I LOVE a social life, but to take things as they come and not to take on more than I can handle. I have learned that it is OK to say no occasionally and that people will still accept me and invite me another time. I have learned that my children LOVE time outdoors that is unstructured and that these are years to be treasured. I have also learned that meditation and yoga help ease stress when schedules cannot be modified.  Just a few minutes a day dedicated to yourself will help tremendously whether in a group class or on your own at home. 

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So, give yourself permission to slow down and enjoy each day.  It is a journey, not a race! Ask yourself what is really important in order to find "the balance" that works for you and for your kids. Stay true to who you are. Wishing you all a stress free day!

Peace, Peace, Peace,

Libby McAvoy