Through 40 years of operations, rehabilitation, and medication my focus was only on managing my disease.
As a result of learning to walk again, multiple times over, I had become very aware of my body in space.
I needed to protect it. Falling would mean more time in hospital. I became so in tune with my body, even, to the point of craving food which would help reduce my inflammation.
I thought I knew my body inside and out - until I discovered adaptive yoga. At the age of 42, I realized my ‘relationship’ with my body, had only just begun!
My name is Miranda
I am the Founder of Adaptive Yoga LIVE and someone who has lived with Rheumatoid Arthritis since the age of two.
It's an autoimmune disease that causes an overproduction of synovial fluid around the joints, which causes the joints to swell, causing pain.
The inflammation in the joint damages the tendons, cartilage, and the bone ends. This damage results in deformities and eventual destruction of the joint.
My first surgery was at age 11 to fuse all the bones together in my right ankle. It had so much damage from inflammation that I could no longer walk.
I was the youngest recipient of bi-lateral hip replacement surgery in the United States at age 14 (that means they replace both hips at the same time).
Doctors waited as long as they could (as I was still growing) but when one of my hips dislocated on the dancefloor at my high school winter formal - I knew it was time!
I've gone on to have many more surgeries and have over 30 arthritic joints in my body.
I have lived with chronic pain for a lifetime.
“Before I found Adaptive Yoga I felt constantly at war with my body, my body was attacking me, it was my enemy”
“Yoga shows you a way of re-inhabiting the body, with greater harmony and ease, no matter how painful the body may feel”
They say everyone’s yoga journey is different, some say spiritual, my journey has taught me self-compassion.
Yoga, for me, was about crafting a new healing, accepting, and loving narrative around my own body image.
Yoga taught me to thank my heart for beating, to honour myself for the work I put in to my practice, to be kinder to myself - even as far as to give myself a hug. I gained a new found love for my body and for myself.
I no longer judged myself or compared myself to abled bodied people. For the first time in my life, I started openly talking about my disability, and felt proud to refer to myself as disabled.
Yoga is a Sanskrit word which, simply put, means “union.” Yoga helped unite me with my disability.
“I wish I had discovered adaptive yoga as a kid”
I would have been able to get support and compassion from other disabled people on the same difficult journey.
I would have learned that meditation and breathing could improve my mental health and help manage my chronic pain.
I would have discovered yoga produces a change in calm, and relaxation, that takes place on a neurobiological level. And that only deep breathing that accompanies mind-body practices like yoga can do this.
I would have been able to maintain my fitness levels between surgeries - instead of having to recover from square one every time.
I would have understood learning to live with the body rather than fighting against it is truly the path to a richer, more satisfying, quality of life.
I would have practiced self-compassion sooner.
I would have felt empowered earlier.
Better late than never, as they say!
“We don’t use our body to get into a pose, we use the pose to get into our body” -Bernie Clark
Adaptive Yoga LIVE was a direct response to the urgent need to support the more vulnerable and physically challenged people in lockdown during Covid-19. Disabled people face isolation every day - whether it’s through fatigue, inaccessibility to places, or social exclusion. If this pandemic has taught us anything - it’s that isolation is soul-destroying. I launched free online adaptive yoga classes to help unite the Disabled community, in a shared experience, during these difficult times.
None of it would have been possible without our tireless team of volunteers. Our dedicated teachers, continue to donate their time, several times a week, without fail, since our launch in April 2020. All of our teachers, who are specially trained in adaptive yoga, are passionate to prove that yoga is for every BODY. They understand the importance of releasing our conditioning about bodies, ability, and accessibility and are committed to exploring ways to expand access to the practices of yoga - for all people.
Friends, family, and donors who have contributed financially to our goal, of brining Adaptive Yoga LIVE to the people who need it most, we sincerely thank you for your generosity and support.
We were thrilled to be recognized by the British Prime Minister with the Points of Light Award for our volunteer work during Covid-19 and everyone involved should feel immensely proud of their efforts.
I believe Adaptive Yoga LIVE is just part of a bigger step-change needed to make the world a more compassionate, and more inclusive, place for Disabled people. I hope you will join us on this journey to empower Disabled people everywhere.
