A Pain the A** Changed My Life

A Pain in the A** Changed My Life

I’m only half joking when I say, “A pain in the a** changed my life.”

At the time, I had a corporate job—a typical “desk” job—staring at a screen for 8 to 9 hours a day. This was before I had started practicing yoga, and it was a very sedentary lifestyle. Truthfully, the most exercise I did on a daily basis was walking from one room to another.

One day, I started to feel a pain down in my right butt cheek—yep, that’s where the a** comes into the picture. It was very subtle at first, more of an annoyance than actual pain, so I ignored it for a while. Gradually, it started to get worse. Not only did the “annoyance” turn into real pain, but the pain also began to radiate up into my lower back. I found myself sitting on a heating pad during the day while I worked.

I tried doing some stretches to see if they would help, but my limited knowledge didn’t lead me very far. I started looking up stretching videos online, hoping something would relieve the pain. I found a lot of basic “stretching” videos, but nothing touched the specific area where I was feeling discomfort. Eventually, I came across a Full Body Yin Yoga practice.

I had dabbled in yoga multiple times over the years, starting in college when I took a yoga class to fulfill a physical education credit requirement. I always enjoyed it but never found a program I could stick with. I tried so many “30 Day” programs, and my biggest accomplishment in any of them was making it to Day 8. While I had a general understanding of yoga, I had never heard of yin yoga before.

The video I found was 45 minutes long. Now, I want to bring you back to the beginning, where I told you that the most exercise I got during the day was walking around my apartment. Needless to say, I was not in the habit of doing anything for 45 minutes. I looked at it and thought, “I’ll try it, but I know I won’t do it for 45 minutes.”

I rolled out my yoga mat for the first time in over a year and turned on the video. I found myself pulled into long-held poses and stories about letting go and being present.

I have always loved stretching. As long as I can remember, I’ve thought, “Man, I could hold that stretch for so much longer,” but I never knew that was actually a thing. Turns out, yin yoga was what my body had been craving all along.

That first practice not only touched my soul, but it stretched the exact spot I had been needing to soothe—the pain in my a**. As I followed the cue into deer pose, I felt the perfect stretch right where I needed it. It hurt—but it was the “good” hurt. The kind of discomfort you feel when you’re getting a massage and the therapist hits that perfect spot.

As I came out of the practice, my first thought was, “That was great, but it wasn’t 45 minutes…” Turns out—it was! It was the first time I had done any kind of practice for that long. Looking back, I realize that for the first time in a long time, my mind had settled. I was fully present and not spiraling for that entire practice. I had never experienced anything like that before.

Now, I’d like to tell you that it was in that moment I was hooked and—whoo hoo—I never looked back…but things don’t always work that way. Honestly, as much as I enjoyed the practice, at that time all I was looking for was relief from the pain in my a**. The next day, the pain was gone, and I most likely wouldn’t have given yin yoga a second thought.

A day later, the pain returned—in the same spot, with the same intensity. Looking back, I know it was the Universe saying, “One time wasn’t enough? Do it again…”

I pulled up the same video and did the same practice. And just like the first time, it stretched the exact spot I needed. But this time, it sank in a little deeper. I realized it was more than just stretching. My mind was becoming quiet for the first time in I don’t know how long. This time, I started to research what yin yoga actually is—and that research brought me into a whole new world. Before I knew it, I was doing 90-minute practices and relishing the stillness.

The teacher I had discovered had a talent for weaving stories and philosophy into the practice. Not only was I giving my body what it had been looking for, but I was also discovering an entirely new way of seeing the world.

For months, I said, “I am only practicing yin yoga…power yoga is too hard.” I was still stuck in the story that I wasn’t strong enough. Eventually, I decided to try a beginner-level power program—a 30-day program. As mentioned, I had yet to make it past Day 8 of any 30-day program.

I made it through Day 30 of this program without missing a single day. Life-changing.

If it hadn’t been for that initial pain in the a**, I may have never discovered yin or been pulled back into yoga in a way I had never experienced before. Looking back, I realize it wasn’t a simple coincidence. This was the Universe’s way of guiding me back onto the path meant for me. There is no doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t stuck with it the second time, that pain in my a** would have kept returning until I did.

Sometimes we see a pain in the a** as a nuisance—but in reality, it might be the motivation we need to make a change.