It was dark.
It was cold.
It was Monday morning.
The heat pump had not quite taken all the chill out of the lounge.
And I had a headache.
I contemplated taking a couple of panadol and skipping my morning practice in favour of a longer hot shower. I talked myself into rolling out the mat, playing my favourite meditation track on the Ipod and wearing my cosiest jumper. Nothing else felt particularly bad, and I figured that if the headache interfered too much with practice, I could still head for the shower.
Warm up, sun salutations, pulsations – mmm, headache still there. Set up for sideangle pose: ground, breathe, extend. As I encouraged my not quite awake upper shoulder tip further around, I felt something unravel deep in my mid-back. As I exhaled and unwound, the headache just – dissolved.
In the past, I’ve been able to work open a stiff, twingy area through breathing and careful working in certain poses. But this was surprising because I didn’t choose this pose for that purpose, and wasn’t aware of any particular stiffness in my back or neck. It just – opened.
Maybe this was unblocking of an energy channel. Maybe it was circulatory. Twists, even small ones, are noted for their ability to help flush out toxins in our organs. To be honest, I don’t really care – it worked!
~Susanne Ames
