Practice in challenging times

Yoga practice affords us opportunity. Opportunity to explore, to play, to reveal.

Practice invites us to confront challenges and to celebrate new discoveries.

It allows us time and space to figure things out.

Incredibly, no matter what the challenge, our practice is there for us.

In January, Louie Ettling, a long time practitioner, fractured her fifth metatarsal (a non-yoga related injury). She had to stay on crutches and in a moon boot for eight weeks before slowly re-learning how to use her foot. During the months when she could not bear weight, Louie had to be both cautious and creative when practising.

Louie’s story is a poignant reminder of how, on the mat and off, every challenge is also an opportunity for self study and reflection. Given the challenges that Covid-19 has unexpectedly thrown on us, we hope these photos can serve as encouragement for anyone needing to adapt their yoga practice in some form or another.

Please note that the photos are not meant to display a repeatable practice but, rather, a small window into an experienced practitioner’s personal exploration. At this time, after three months, Louie is walking short distances and doing standing poses for half an hour at a time. She is grateful for the practice and knows that her progress is partly due to decades of practice before the injury and the consistent grounding of practice during her recovery.

Louie would like to thank the photographers involved in this story – Renee Bruinsma, Anne Lyle, Corrie Vorlaufer, Cheryl Joseph and Faye Fayerman.