My Journey to a Self-Care Based Movement Practice
By Carol Grimes
I loved yoga from the moment I took my first class at 20 years old. After the first 10 years of practice, however, my body began to change. My physical and health needs were different and traditional yoga classes made my body feel worse.
Teachers expected me to do certain poses a certain way and were confused when I modified or opted out. One teacher asked me if I was “afraid” in a mocking way. I never went back to that studio.
I didn’t have the language or the confidence to explain that nope, I was not afraid, just practicing self-care and protecting my body. Luckily, I found a teacher that worked for me and was supportive. After a number of years when I expressed interest in a teacher training, she referred me to a program with a more therapeutic approach to yoga and movement.
“I didn’t have the language or the confidence to explain that nope, I was not afraid, just practicing self-care and protecting my body.”
After I completed my training and began to teach and sub, some people were delighted with my teaching style, others were confused or dissatisfied at not getting more of a “workout” style class. It took a long time to find a few select studios and communities that embraced my unusual style of teaching.
Years later, my desire to start an online studio was not just motivated by the pandemic or by the cascade of studios closing their physical doors, but also by the opportunities that online movement classes could provide to support a self-care based practice.
Online yoga offers a new doorway of freedom for those of us that need to take care of our bodies in a different way during a movement class. We can modify or opt out of a pose without comparing ourselves to others, we can take a break when needed without disturbing others, we can even turn off our screen to protect our privacy or reduce any worries we might have about being judged.
“Online yoga offers a new doorway of freedom for those of us that need to take care of our bodies in a different way during a movement class.”
If your practice is different than what is traditionally expected during a yoga or movement class, allow me to be the first to celebrate and empower you to embrace that difference. You will learn so much more about your body and your mind if you respect and accept yourself as you are.
Listen to your body, learn how to adjust your practice, and your self-awareness and self-trust will grow in beautiful and unexpected ways. It won’t happen all at once and it will take time. There will definitely be challenges along the way. An amazing journey lies ahead of you!
Carol Grimes is Adosa’s Founder and a Self-Care Advocate