The sea calls to my heart more than the mountains and there are many quiet memories that I can recall quite vividly. The sounds of the waves and wind, the feel of the tiny specks of sand that would somehow find its way into everything I wore, the smell of the salt water and so on. I’ve seen things lost to the waves and how they’ve been swept away without a hope of return. I see something like that happening in my life now. Almost all asanas are riding the wave back to the sea and I’m left on the shore…
The knee problem turned out to be three partially torn ligaments which collectively are a fairly severe issue. It would need surgical repair according to a couple of doctors and a complete break from Asana. I have yet to meet the specialist for a final verdict. In the meanwhile, I have been protective of my knee and taking care. My first thought on getting to know was dismay that even yogasana would be gone. The second was that of Mathew Sanford. That put things in perspective.
Somehow the loss of running was bearable because I could swim and had a yoga practice to fall back on. And in the range of asanas, the inversions became a friend for various reasons. I haven’t been to a class since 10 days and miss the learning already. But, there’s also a strong voice inside that reminds me of a larger picture that I cannot see.
Once I do get back to asana, I will need to start from scratch and it should be interesting to be a beginner with a little prior experience to draw upon. Injuries and setbacks are always excellent teachers. In the meanwhile, there is always savasana.
My only regret is that I didn’t get the scan earlier, I could have saved my knee a lot of unnecessary pain. I’ve been reading about it and gathered that it was likely to have occurred as a result of an impact. I’ve never paid attention to those kind of incidences and so cannot remember when it might have happened.
I’m still hoping that there is a way around this but if not, let’s see what adventures the sea holds.
anonymous sadhaka 
Take your time to heal. Many blessings to you!
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Thank you Michael.
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You’re approaching this with such wisdom. When I was teaching at a college, I had student athletes who had gone through various major injuries and surgeries come to yoga as beginners, post-rehab. They seemed more patient with their bodies than the students who had never been hurt. Injury is a good teacher. I’ve never had major surgery, but I’ve had a number of injuries Iimit or change my asana practice. It becomes less and less about what I can do but why I’m doing it and how I approach it. I hope you heal well.
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Thank you for the kind wishes. 🙏
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Hello I have recently torn my ACL in the left knee, I am a practitioner and teacher of Iyengar yoga. I will be having surgery this coming Monday. I have a sequence I have worked with since the injury if you would like to know more about. Lots of inversions to bring down the swelling and with most poses I have the metal rods in place. Stephanie Quirk has given me guidance and Lois Steinbergs knee book has been invaluable and no doubt will come into more use after the reconstruction. Take care and be kind to yourself. and wise words from the other comments- Injury is a good teacher.
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Didn’t realise that I did not hit the reply button. Wish you a successful surgery and may you have a speedy recovery. Had a bit of a twist in my tale😊 a second scan showed no tears but really severe runners knee.
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Best wishes for your surgery and may you have a speedy recovery. Thank you for sharing about your injury, I would love to know more about the sequence that you have been following. In my case, it’s a tear at the tibial and femoral end of the posterior cruciate ligament as well as the one on the outer knee of the right leg. I’m meeting the surgeon today for a consultation and let’s see what he says.
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Hi dear S, as always your words bear loads of wisdom. I guess injury teaches patience. I wish you a good recovery and send you warm thought from Germany !
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Thanks Fanny. I’m hoping there’s a workaround. Had some mixed news at the doc. 😊
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