Three Ways Injuries can Deepen your Meditation Practice

Lessons from tendonitis; Week 3 of Awakened Yoga (Imagination)

About a month ago, I decided I wanted more aerobic activity and that I should start running again.

This was a top-down decision. I wasn’t fixing any issue or working on a goal. It just seemed like it might be, well, fun. 

I knew running could be risky for my body and based on past experiences, that I might get injured. But in a mood of baseless optimism, I thought this time would be different.

I started off slow and short—really more of a shuffle than a run. I forced myself to stick with modest goals. I was the picture of commonsense well-being.

And to start, it all went well.

And then, two weeks ago, both of my ankles got tendonitis. 

Pain, tightness, and bizarre heat patches that flare up and diminish. I could hardly walk. For days, I limped around the block to walk the dog. I found excuses to sit when normally I would stand.

Two throbbing ankles? I was hobbled. 

What could I do with all that discomfort? 

I did the only thing I could do while sitting. I turned it into my practice (and if you know me, this will be no surprise). 

The first turning of the Wheel of Injury

When you’re injured, the first consideration is to take basic, commonsense steps to support your physical body. Do you need to see a doctor? Do you ice or use heat? Do you need a boot? Images?

Care for your injury on a practical, physical-body level.

This is the practice that most people are comfortable with. This level understands the physical form of our lived experience. It’s important and shouldn’t be dismissed.

In my case, my ankles are uncomfortable but I don’t think they’re seriously injured. I’ve been taping them and resting them. Each day, they feel a little better and as long as this continues, I feel like I’m on the right track.

The second turning of the Wheel of Tendonitis

The next step in a tendonitis practice (or any injury practice) is to apply compassion to your recovery plan. Compassion starts the integration of the emotional/subtle body with the physical body.

How do you do this?

As you meditate, notice what emotions come up. Explore your pre-conceived ideas about pain, well-being, and selfcare to find clarity about what you really need to heal. Ask yourself what lessons you might learn from your injury. How can your injury benefit others? How can this injury support your meditation?

With these inquiries, your edges begin to soften. The way you care for your injury becomes less prescriptive and performative, and more about true well-being.

And even more important, your injury becomes a doorway to connect to others. It strengthens your heart so you can nurture others who are in discomfort.

Having both ankles injured at the same time gave me a new perspective on how vital mobility is for our welfare. Of course, this is obvious but now, I’ve felt this truth viscerally. When I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t care for myself. I’ve taken this newfound insight into my practice and say prayers for people with injuries from birth, accidents, or war. Now I appreciate their struggles in a new way.

The third turning of the Wheel of Afflictions

In this third phase of practice, your injury becomes the vehicle to see Truth, to see things as they are, and to explore the nature of reality. Because the injury is another life experience, you use it to understand the nature of your life, your consciousness.

What does this mean? 

Honestly, I’m not really sure what I mean by this.

According to the dharma talks in my podcast list, the nature of phenomena (such as injuries) involves empty luminosity, a Buddhist favorite for explaining everything. But I can’t articulate what that means. I wish I could give you some profound insights but I’m just not wise enough.  The extent of my cleverness is to name my Three Phases of Tendonitis Practice with not-so-subtle Buddhist references. That’s all I got in my bag of tricks.

If I tried to give insights, I would sound trite. You’re bound to be disappointed with them. 

But this lack of understanding is exactly my point.

I know that tendonitis is not just an injury to my physical body and nor is it solely an emotional/subtle body experience. Just like every single experience of life, it’s the union of all of it. What makes my injury special is that the discomfort is easily accessible.

When my ankles crab at me, I begin to practice. I observe how the sensations rise and fall. I ask myself to find the essence of the sensations and discover who is experiencing them. I notice how my thoughts and emotions arise from the discomfort and challenge myself to experience the sensations as pure aliveness. Can I just be, even with two throbbing ankles?

My point is not that I can tell you that tendonitis will open the mysteries of the heavens. My point is that you can use your injuries to ask questions about those mysteries. You can play around with your lived experience. 

So the next time you have injuries, flare-ups, or illnesses, ask yourself: How can my physical-body experience support my practice in deep and meaningful ways?

Week 3: Using visualizations to enhance your practice

It’s the third week of Awakened Yoga and this one is fun.

During our practice this week, we’ll start to focus more deeply on the visualizations in our routine. We’ll practice using our imagination to connect with your more subtle selves—your emotional body and even your spirit.

For some people, visualizations are a no-brainer. But for others, they can be a struggle. Sometimes it’s hard to keep the visualizations in your mind. Other times, it feels too abstract, even too woo-woo.

If you’re someone who has struggled with using images in your practice, don’t despair. Like always, there will be lots of options in the routine to find what works for you.

Housekeeping

I’ve promised to send out weekly reminders with the Zoom link for our sessions. Last week, I realized that if I send out a reminder with the recording link as well, that’s a lot of emails each week.

So going forward, I will send out a reminder with the Zoom link each Monday. If you want to view the recording from that week, all of them will be on this page:

Awakened Body Syllabus

• Week 1: Introducing body-mind movement (See Recording Page)

• Week 2: Subtle body movement with the breath (See Recording Page)

• Week 3: Using visualizations to enhance your practice

• Week 4: Tight focus vs Open Awareness

• Week 5: Thoughts and emotions in movement

• Week 6: Movement as prayer

Awakened Yoga Details:

• Tuesdays @ 1:00 CST online

• Nov 5 - Dec 10 (six weeks)

• Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82532775621?pwd=bZl3FjaXbPTznaRWav9y4cZTgCWcTZ.1

  • You can leave your camera off and recordings will be available

  • We’ll use the same link every week.

• Recordings for each week are available here

• Accessible for all bodies and capabilities.

• Be prepared to sit comfortably on floor, cushion, or a chair.