How Yoga with Adriene cured my back pain, and improved the quality of life for so many other devoted followers, so say GQ and Ross Edgley.
Some four years ago, I experienced some quite serious pain in my lower back and like most people in a similar position, I experimented with varying methods of pain relief!
Pilates in the local village hall every Thursday evening was great until I put my back out for a second time while trying to keep up with the other members of the group!
Pain relief from the GP proved effective and got me over the initial hurdle but was only ever a short-term solution.
I tried seeing a chiropractor, a very strict and direct South African lady who saw me through the worst. I also saw an osteopath, but whilst providing a solution for many, neither provided the long-term solution I sought i.e., freedom from pain.
I even bought a new mattress! We are the proud owners of a fabulous mattress made by Harrison Spinks, a 180 year-old family company based in Leeds, Yorkshire who use wool from sheep reared on their own farm, and locally grown hemp and flax as they strive to create sustainable, innovative and above all, luxurious mattresses which really are the ultimate in comfort. This was one of the few things we brought over to the Netherlands when we moved here 18 months ago and really is worth every penny!
However, despite all these efforts, it was a random conversation with a fellow musician and friend, one Sunday morning as we drove to an orchestra rehearsal in the Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, as members of the Prometheus Orchestra, which my life changed for good.
Claire, my car-share buddy for the day, is an avid fan of Yoga with Adriene and was ecstatic that Sunday morning as Adriene had ‘liked’ one of her replies which she had posted in the YouTube comments. Claire knew of the back pain I had been experiencing – it was quite evident on a long car journey – and suggested that perhaps I give yoga, and more specifically Yoga with Adriene a try.
I was sceptical. Yoga could not possibly be for me. Yoga involved being in tune with your body and meditating (I thought) and was only for fitness buffs, (I thought), and not for someone like me, surely. Yoga had been suggested before. After two rather difficult births, I clearly remember my brother-in-law saying that he thought I was the type of person who might like yoga… but no! I didn’t have the time… I always found an excuse…
And so, when starting my daily yoga session here in NL, four years later, and up popped a GQ interview with Adriene Mishler hosted by Ross Edgley, I was transported back in time; to a time when I could not foresee a life untainted by backpain; a time when life without back pain seemed impossible?
This is my first encounter with Ross Edgley, and despite the very distracting whiteness of his teeth, I must commend him for the clarity and depth of understanding he displayed in this exploration of the impact Adriene Mishler has had on so many lives all over the world, especially during the pandemic.
Adriene is an interviewer’s dream: she likes to talk, but Ross skilfully nudged her into enlightening directions and gave the viewer a most insightful glimpse into this modern-day yoga guru’s mind, and what a delight we had in store.
Like so many of us, Ross admitted that, as the most inflexible man on the earth, yoga was not for him – a sentiment I had shared for many years.
This, I think, is the secret to Adriene’s success.
Adriene, through her weekly videos (even at a time when she readily admitted no-one was watching her – it was just a project!) has been able to democratise yoga. She has brought yoga to the masses, made yoga accessible to all, made yoga something you can do in the privacy of your own house for FREE; without having to find childcare (which was a huge factor for me); without having to pay exorbitant fees to belong to the local health club, which in any case, only has yoga sessions during the day when you are work; without having to brave the winter weather after a tiring day and or grumpy children; and without having to look a fool in front of friends when some exercises are simply impossible.
Adriene has provided yoga, not to make you better, but to make us free!
As she puts it, she is privileged to be invited into our homes and openly acknowledges and praises us for making time to come to the mat and to allow the thoughts and troubles of the day just to take a back seat, and to make some yummy yoga with the girl from Austin, Texas and find that Texas T – a position found by lying on your back with arms outstretched in the shape of a ‘T’!
In this ‘safe space’ which she has created on YouTube and in her app, there really are videos for all; this is a key part of her strategy. There are videos for: men’s sport, different ages, climbers, swimmers, migraines, cramps, anger, vertigo, courage, the morning, bedtime, beginners, at your desk, neck, shoulders and upper back, adaptive sports e.g., people in wheelchairs, and even one for Halloween, when you might be feeling scared. The list is endless, and deliberately so in Adriene’s mission to provide free yoga for all. Her app categorises yoga practices by length, which is really useful as sometimes, a 10-minute session might be all there is either time or the inclination for, but in her words, a little goes a long way! The free downloadable calendars each month, judging by the comments, seem to give that extra little push for many to join her on the mat each day.
It was only when reading the accompanying GQ article that I fully understand the sacrifice that Mishler has made. She describes Austin, Texas in 2012 as a most creative city with a very special, but small yoga community, however, in order to continue to be part of this community in 2015, Adriene was literally mopping the floors of the yoga studios and washing the mats in exchange for classes. It was at this moment she decided, along with her business partner, Chris Sharpe, to devote herself to the delivery of as much high-quality, free yoga, to as many people as possible. And her mission remains unchanged today.
Adriene is completely aware and humbled by the ripple effect she has created and does not take the responsibility lightly. When quizzed by Edgley, she shares a desire to spend time nurturing her brain, to be inspired, and to learn more. She wants to get behind the science of yoga and to expand the vocabulary to reach more people and provide scientific evidence showing how movement can affect the brain and improve brain function, so yoga becomes a scientific study, and not just spiritual performance. As a Mexican American herself, she also wants to take time to learn Spanish as she expands her reach into this community.
For me personally, the most visible demonstration of her commitment to serving the people was when I received a ‘like’ from Adriene herself (or her team!), to a most innocuous tweet earlier this year. Now, you may think this is silly, but I had been struggling with feeling stiff and achy and had not maybe done as much yoga as perhaps I would have liked. That one, simple, symbolic ‘like’, from a person with over 10 million followers and from whom there have been over 1 billion total viewings of her videos, was that little extra spur that was needed, and which has carried me ever since.
So, to return to the issue at hand: back pain! I can categorically say that Yoga with Adriene, and movement of the body in alignment with breath, has proved to be a long-term cure for my daily back pain.
After deciding to follow 30 Days of Yoga all those years ago, I clearly remember looking at some of the postures and thinking that I would never be able to follow her instructions… but quietly and slowly, Adriene builds up your whole-body strength, and suddenly, one day, you find that yes, you can put your heels on the mat in downward facing dog and even come close to a sideways plank. This strengthening of the core and the back muscles is key to controlling and eradicating back pain – something Adriene herself suffered from for a time. For women, especially those who have had a section, the core muscles are decimated and need careful, steady, and consistent attention over a long period of time to rebuild and provide a firm support system for the spine.
So, like Adriene says, I would encourage us all to listen to our bodies, and in the words of Russell Brand (who interviewed in May 2021), find that connection between our mind, our body, and our breath. And to those who have not yet tried yoga, just put on those leggings, and get on the mat and the rest will be history. Namaste!
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Further Reading:
GQ interview with Adriene Mishler hosted by Ross Edgley
