When I told one of my friends at work that I had started taking yoga again after a hiatus of over 10 years, she said, "--Yeah, I can tell." I said, "Whaddya mean you can tell?" She said: "You're a lot calmer." "Really?" I said. "Yup, you really are." :-) Hmmm.
Norma Colon was referred to me by a nutritionist I was seeing many years ago. I went to her classes for a couple of years and loved them. Then work got in the way.
Fast forward 10 years + and many pounds put on after quitting smoking. Osteoarthritis in my lumbar spine had become so painful that I was having bouts of not being able to bend--at all. To clean my kitty's box, or to pick something up from the floor, I had to kneel, because I couldn't bend. Every four- to sixth months I had to go to the doctor to get cortisone shots, and did weeks of physical therapy. I would receive a script for narcotic-strength pain killers for the worst of times. Sitting at work every day with my trusty huge ice pack up against my lumbar spine was life. Walked many times with a cane. It all helped, but the unbearable pain always came back.
I had asked my employer for a standing desk, when it occurred to me that I should try Iyengar yoga again with Norma. She was such an angel. Was she still in NYC? Check. Was she near enough that I could fit classes in? Check. Was the price right? Check. Would she be able to accommodate another student? Yes!
Since starting classes again with Norma--at first, once a week, and now, twice a week as much as possible--I have not had to get a cortisone shot in my lumbar spine area; have not had to have physical therapy; have not had to take narcotic-strength painkillers. I have not had to go to my doctor, using a cane, desperate for relief.
The effect that Norma's classes have had on my life has been miraculous. I could tell my employer to put the standing desk on the back burner (that was six months ago; I probably will not need it). I am walking, bending, kneeling, taking stairs, standing on tippy-toe, getting up from chairs and my bed without pain. On the kneeling buses, I still have to ask the driver to bring the bus down a bit, but I am no longer struggling to lift my leg, no longer using a cane. I haven't seen my doctor to get shots or medication since I began classes with her again.
Every so often, I do have strong lumbar pain, usually when the weather changes. That is life. But since starting classes again with Norma, I have had to use a prescription painkiller only twice in six months. That is incredible.
I don't know if Norma's classes will be the answer, or part of the answer, for you, as they have been for me. Again, I am not pain free. But I don't need shots, PT or narcotics any more (Advil PM usually does the trick). My freedom of movement is so greatly improved that I feel many years younger. I have more confidence in my body and I am stronger.
Norma is one of the best teachers I have ever had, for any subject. She has many years of experience and has an intuitive gift that helps her provide solutions to help you do poses that are causing problems or difficulties. She is very respectful of people's injuries, pain, and weaknesses and provides work-arounds to help you participate. You never feel like "everyone else is ahead of me" in her classes. When you think you can't, she challenges you to see if in fact, you can. A kinder person I have never met.
I don't know what I would do now without Norma. The alternatives simply aren't acceptable to me any more. I'm a "lifer." read more
