Yoga Philosophy: Injuries, Acceptance & Presence | Alyssa DeCaro

Brendon Orr (00:00) Alyssa these group group sessions or in any yoga classes that you teach, have you encountered people who are maybe navigating their own frustrations with physical limitations and you're able to draw from your experience in terms of offering any sage-like wisdom, drawing from what you've navigated? Gina Clingerman (00:18) Thank Alyssa (00:19) Yes, absolutely. I would say not only physical injury, there's some, something that I say at the beginning of each retreat or each workshop is that everyone will come up to me and they have their own version of the story of why they're not the version of themselves that they thought they were going to be on this day that they're doing this retreat or this workshop. So it'll be something like, ah, I was really looking forward to this, but then I hurt my back the other day and Now I feel like I'm not sure what I'm going be able to do, or I was really looking forward to this, but then we got in a big fight on the way here and now I'm just in a really angry mood and I don't even feel like I'm even available to do this thing. So I wouldn't even limit it to physical, but there's some way that we have this story of how we thought we were going to be. That's like the past version ourselves of ourselves or the future version of our like ideal self, but it's very different. than who we are actually showing up as. And that's where I think the doorway is into presence. And that's what I really think yoga is, is the willingness to be with the truth of what is in this moment. It's not, how do I become happy? Even though a lot of people who do yoga find more joy and happiness and peace, I think. But that the truth of just being with what is in the moment. Gina Clingerman (01:34) you Alyssa (01:47) seeing what's here and available. That's where I think physical injuries is and can be a doorway. I don't wish it upon people. don't, you know, I think injury is really hard and it sucks, but it's also, it is a doorway, just like, you know, mental, emotional pain can be if we are willing to see what it has to show us about ourselves. Gina Clingerman (02:11) I think too, there's something to that. I've said this before on different ones, but I broke my pelvis when I was 19 into four pieces. ⁓ there was a definite before, this is me before, and then there's the, this is me now. And then there's this longing to be in the past. And there's a recognition. Alyssa (02:18) Oof. my gosh. Gina Clingerman (02:33) that I feel like has to happen of like a grieving has to happen of like, oh, this thing happened and I can't be that person anymore. I'm sure you've probably went through this with your knees. Like these are not accessible. These things that I thought were gonna be my life is not accessible to me anymore. And I think that can happen too in like a mental emotional way as well, right? Like you have a big loss or something in your life and it's like, I'm not that person anymore. But the beauty of it is that when we can, like you were saying, when you can show up in the present and just be with what is and know where you're at, then there's this next step that's like, ⁓ but I'm also all of these things. So it's like a yes and. And then the question I was thinking about as you were talking is, do you think that when people show up and they're like, I hurt my back or this thing happened, is it kind of? Alyssa (03:15) Mm-hmm. Gina Clingerman (03:28) Two things were coming into my mind. was like, one is, is it kind of like a fear of like, I'm afraid of what I'm gonna encounter here, so I'm giving you a reason for why I can't fully participate? Or is the second thing like, I'm afraid to be who I really am, because I don't, maybe I don't fully know what that is, and it's kind of terrifying, because what if it's awesome, or what if it's not awesome? What are your thoughts on that? Alyssa (03:54) gosh, those are both like really big questions and topics. Brendon Orr (03:57) haha