It's been a year.

August 2024 marked a valley in my physical, emotional and spiritual health. I suffered significant pain from a herniated disc in my lumbar spine. I was told I needed surgery, which ignited fear and anxious energy. Despite living a healthy life with daily yoga, meditation, intentional breathing, and clean eating (mostly), I live in a human body--subject to aging, illness, and injury.

There were months I couldn’t lead a class, cook dinner, or even sit longer than a minute without crippling pain. At my end, I chose to trust my body’s God-given design and propensity to heal. I just needed to get out of its way.

Optimism became my oxygen mask. Research shows that positive thinking decreases stress, strengthens immunity, and even increases longevity. Collectively, these benefits protect against the harmful effects of stress and anxiety and supports the body to heal.

I experienced it firsthand: optimism changed how I related to pain, helped me engage more meaningfully with my providers, and gave me courage to say yes or no when needed. Turns out it wasn’t just a spine injury—it was also a spiritual injury, an invitation to reexamine my identity before God.

Positivity strengthens the mind-body connection. I needed to change my relationship to the pain and listen to the lesson it was teaching me.

To truly be schooled by God.

Healing is not linear or quick. It's not the perfect provider or method. Sometimes it's not even a cure. Healing is about relationship and perspective. Optimism helps us stick to a treatment plan, discover root causes, and respond with acceptance and compassion. Believing in recovery actually changes the neurological circuits in your brain and supports healing.

Here are 5 practical ways you can practice optimism for your healing:

1. Surround yourself with people who uplift you.

2. Avoid negativity with your senses. Skip the processed food, dark/violent movies, negative talk, irritating fabric, toxic smells. Instead, eat close to the earth, watch light-hearted tv, engage in supportive conversation, wear fabric that is soft on the skin, and smell pleasing aromas.

3. Focus on progress not perfection. Celebrate small changes and slight improvements. Try to compare how you're feeling week by week, not day to day.

4. Commit to ONE approach and give it the time it needs. Avoid skipping from treatment to treatment. This TAKES a lot of energy--energy you need for healing.

5. Practice restoration and relaxation. Yoga, prayer, meditation, journaling, mindful breathing, walking, time in nature, meals with friends are all examples of helpful ways to reduce stress and develop positivity.

In my experience, surrounding yourself with encouraging people is key to faster recovery and managing chronic conditions. Positive people in your life can help improve immediate and long-term health vitality.

The turning point for me came when I was introduced to a provider who demonstrated pure optimism for my full recovery without surgery. He listened to my story, eased my fear, and reinforced hope. My husband's support and care of yogi friends at Redeemer also carried me. Thank you.

Now, I'm completely pain free and stronger than I've ever been. Through it all, I've learned a lot and I'm excited to be back teaching. I was taught that yoga therapy is relationship. This experience has deepened my appreciation for the ancient wisdom of the practice and for the God who meets us there.

Yoga therapy is relationship. It's about relationship to the suffering. Instead of holding tight to a cure, pick an aspect of yourself you are thankful for. This simple habit can change your focus to what is going right instead of what is going wrong. It's about acceptance, understanding and compassion. The Psalms are a good example of suffering held with comfort and trust in God's promises.

Yoga therapy is relationship. It's about your experience with your breath. You have a resource within you. If you can breathe, it means you have healing energy within you. I'm talking about the life-force energy, the Ruach, the breath of life that lives you (2 Cor 4:16, Voice) Yoga therapy teaches us ways to direct and use that energy--energy to heal our inner life and body.

Yoga therapy is relationship. It's about holding someone's story, listening, accepting, not judging, encouraging, challenging, questioning, commitment, support and holding space for the one who suffers. It's not always knowing everything about the suffering--it's knowing about the one who suffers. (2 Cor 1:4-7)

What healing do you desire in your life?