Falling Out of Child’s Pose and Into Compassion

I didn’t see it coming. One moment, I was hopping out of the car after a long journey, excited to see my loved ones. Next, I realised my lower back was not at all impressed with my heroic leap. Turns out, my SI joint had been quietly protesting for a while. A minor injury — one I didn’t even notice at the time — aggravated by too much sitting, a long drive, and a dramatic car exit. Welcome home, indeed.

As someone who teaches yoga, my first reaction was a potent cocktail of frustration and unfamiliarity. I’m a yoga teacher. I thought I’d built-in immunity to these things! Oh, how humbling it is to be human. And what a gift it turned out to be.

Yoga Teachers Get Injured Too

Yoga teachers have bodies that get tired, tight, sore, and sometimes injured. We’re not immune, and we’re certainly not superheroes. This experience reminded me that it’s one thing to teach kindness and patience — it’s quite another to live it when you can’t even get into Child’s Pose.

Ahimsa, Satya, Aparigraha: Living the Teachings

This little flare-up became my classroom.

Ahimsa, the practice of non-violence, started with choosing gentleness, especially towards myself. Not pushing. Not forcing. Allowing.

Satya, truthfulness, showed up in accepting the honest state of my body. For ten days, folding forward was off the table. Child’s Pose? Not happening. Happy Baby? Screaming pain! My practice had to meet me where I actually was, not where I wished to be.

Aparigraha, non-grasping. Letting go of trying to ‘get back to normal’ and instead being curious about what my body needed in the here and now. Some days it was rest. On other days, slow somatic movement. Every day, it was a deeper connection to my body wisdom.

The Magic of Small, Somatic Practices

The gift? This injury pulled me back into the simplest medicine: daily, intuitive movement. Five minutes here. Ten minutes there. It wasn’t about ambitious flows or strong shapes. I rarely made it to standing poses. It was about tuning in, moving gently, and letting my body lead.

And in my classes, it reminded me to offer options. To really offer them, even for those poses we sometimes label as ‘accessible.’ It nudged me to lean more on verbal cueing, to guide from presence, not just demonstration.

Gratitude for the Healing Path

The good news is, it resolved quickly. Yoga supported the healing journey. My students, as always, were patient and understanding, reminding me how much we can hold space for each other. It was a minor blip in the grand scheme of things, but what a potent little reminder of humility, empathy, and the ever-changing dance of being in a human body.

A Gentle Lower Back Reset (Simple Practice)

If your lower back ever feels tight or tired, here’s a short sequence you can try — the very one I found myself returning to again and again:

1. Constructive Rest (3 minutes) – Lie on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor, and allow your back to soften.

2. Pelvic Tilts (10 rounds) – Gently tilt the pelvis forwards and backwards, finding a soft rocking motion.

3. Supine Knee Sways (1-2 minutes) – With knees bent and feet planted on the ground, gently sway your knees side to side.

4. Reclined Pigeon Stretch (1 minute each side) – Cross one ankle over the opposite knee and gently hug in, feeling into the outer hip and lower back.

5. Supported Savasana (5 minutes) – Pop a bolster or cushion under your knees and rest. Full permission to just be.

   
   

Remember: five minutes counts. Ten minutes counts. Listening to your body counts most of all.

Closing Thoughts

So yes, I fell out of Child’s Pose… and into a softer, kinder relationship with my own practice. Yoga doesn’t promise a body free from aches or accidents — it offers us the tools to meet ourselves where we are, with compassion and curiosity.

Wherever you are in your body today, you are welcome on the mat.