Girl Does Yoga: October And November

Lianne 001

 (Any and all excuse will be used to show you what a photography boss you’re dealing with when you’re in front of the camera with Mariet Mons

Hi. I did more yoga than you would have expected from a bitch with a broken ankle. Read about my yoga practice in October and November below.

OCTOBER I broke my ankle October 1st, and a week or so later I emailed the owner of my yoga studio that I didn’t think I would be able to do yoga anytime soon, so if she could please freeze my card.

Lydia replied hat she would freeze it but if I would consider trying a class, because it would help the healing process. I read this when I was in Italy, while I couldn’t do shit and I was in a fuckton of pain, and I decided that it couldn’t hurt. I would get myself to the yoga studio the morning before my cast was going to come off anyway, so if it would get gross it wouldn’t really matter much: the cast would be replaced a few hours later.

That class, Lydia put me on a stool and instructed me to do the positions in a similar way, but all the focus on the rolling, bending, stretching and lengthening of my spine. Just sweating was great as it was, but doing all of that with my back was excellent: I felt the same as I do when doing the regular yoga. Yoga Boy was there too and he and I went out for coffee after. It was lovely.

I had the appointment with the nurse after, and she was super surprised the swelling had gone down as much as it did.

She taped my foot up and told me it was likely that in two weeks I’d be walking normally again.

Lydia extended my lesson card so I could come whenever I could and I gratefully took her up on that offer: I went twice that week and three times the final week of October.

In the mean time the tape around my broken ankle disintegrated to a sticky gross itchy substance. But I didn’t give a shit. When I went back to the hospital they cut it off and were like “Goodbye God bless” and I was done with casts and tapes after a month.

NOVEMBER November could not have started better for me in terms of yoga: Isabella is back. I repeat, Isabella is back.

Isabella’s yoga classes are some of my favourites, and I wrote this about her once (you know, that second ebook about yoga I will one day finish.) That’s why on the first of November, hungover from Lin’s Halloween party, I STILL went to Isa’s first class here in Rotterdam. And that’s why whenever I see her on the schedule, I make an effort to go.

  • 1: It’s a miracle I lived through that class with the amount of alcohol that was still in my blood. Yoga Boy came upto me and he went “Eugh, you reek.” What a friend.
  • 2: A class after work after having too much coffee means my heart races more, which makes my class harder. I was tired during, but it was okay.
  • 3: God, I love my yoga teacher Jeane. Jeane WORKS ME OUT. She always makes me stretch my back and shoulders more and that really intensifies the postures.
  • 4: Afternoon class but I had less coffee, so that helped. I was very relaxed during.
  • 5: Morning class, with Jeane again. Afterwards Jeane sends me a Facebook message about how inspiring she finds my focus in practice and that I am a great example. Um, hearing Jeane say that makes me go like this. I was grinning about this all day.
  • 6: My yoga teacher overslept! That never happened before. We still started on time and it was a great class.
  • 7: I went to yoga expecting Lydia and got Isa (see previous fangirling). It was like expecting Beyonce circa 2008 and then getting Beyonce circa the album drop of Yonce.
  • 8: Good class, nothing to report. Today is the first day I do all of the standing series. Halfassed and wobbly, but I do it.
  • 9: Class by Isabella. I am able to balance one my weak leg for a while, which is good.
  • 10: Some classes I am like “yay zen time” and other classes I am like “okay let’s solve ALL the problems in the world ever as well as your childhood traumas and mentally write some Sterek fan fiction while you’re at it”. Could not get my brain to shut up.
  • 11: Very relaxed class, mostly. Was with a friend and we both commented on how much better we feel when we’re going to yoga.
  • 12: Class by Isabella. I am busy and overwhelmed at work and everything comes at me at once while I’m doing the yoga. I have a hard time staying in the present moment. Afterwards I feel tons better, though.
  • 13: This is a morning class where all I keep thinking about is how much I want to have a latte.

OVERALL: My ankle is still weak (and sometimes I wonder if I will always have one swollen ankle and one regular one! #foreverfatankle) but I’ve already gained back quite a bit of my strength and flexibility.

Some postures that were really easy for me once are now difficult (Separate Head To Knee Stretching) while postures I hated have become a lot easier (Triangle).

But what’s more important, I am very easy on myself right now. I am recovering from a broken bone, and I have nothing to prove. I just enjoy reconnecting with my yoga practice.

I always come out of the class feeling so clear-headed and relaxed, and it’s doing wonders for my stress levels and my productivity; the one goes down, and the other goes up.

DECEMBER? For December the goal is to really go 5 times a week: That’s what I promised myself.

November was me revving up speed, now it’s time to really get to the level I want to be at. Not the level of how good I want to be, not how skinny or how flexible I want to be, but how often I am able to/want to dedicate 90 minutes to my health and happiness.

Keep you posted!

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10 comments

  1. Wow, good job! Impressive you already started doing yoga even before the cast came off 🙂
    My dad so badly broke his ankle a few years ago he needed an operation. He trained for months and months to regain his running strength again, but it in the end he totally returned to being as fit as he was before. So there you go, a little spark of hope: you’ll get there!

  2. #foreverfatankle –with you on that one.

    Have been recovering of a bruised bone and one or two torn ligaments for ages now and it is still stiff and a bit weak. but yoga works wonders, both with regards to flexibility and strength as well as to pain. hophop.

  3. Wat leuk om te lezen 😀
    Ik vind yoga zelf ook echt heerlijk om te doen!
    Dikke props dat je met je enkel toch de hele tijd yoga hebt gedaan, 10 punten!

    En wat een super leuke foto! Complimenten voor de fotograaf en het model! ; )

  4. Seriously, die foto is zooo gaaf!

    Ik zou echt zo graag yoga willen doen! Maar abbo’s zijn duur en studies zijn druk :'( helaars!
    Hoewel ik af en toe thuis toch voor de lol in de downwardsfacingdog spring.. gewoon omdat het kan!

    Liefs Patriecia (haha voor jou beter bekend als highfiving @ptriiez )