Matthew Sanford - Inspiration From a Paraplegic Yoga Teacher

I had the pleasure of attending Matthew Sanford's very moving keynote address at the Iyengar Yoga Midwest Yoga Conference in Chicago, September 15 - 18, 2011.   He inspired all of us with his story of recovery, and how his practice of Iyengar Yoga, starting at age 25, has helped him to deal with the trauma he's been through, and to live as a more fully integrated person even with his disability.  

Of course he can't do yoga poses in the same way that an able-bodied person would, but he uses the principles of good alignment, as taught in the Iyengar Yoga system, and as they apply to his own body. He follows these same principals when teaching yoga to disabled and able-bodied people.  

What inspired me to write this article, besides listening to his keynote address, was a four-minute video I watched of Matthew Sanford talking with YogaJournal.com, Yoga and Healing Trauma, in which he discusses how practicing yoga poses can help people move through trauma, pain, and sadness.  I encourage you to watch it for yourself!

Matthew Sanford says, "The body is the best home your mind is ever going to have", and that the body is a powerful vehicle to help support the mind as it deals with trauma and sadness.

An example he gives is of someone with painful arthritis of the hand who might become overly focused on the pain they experience in that hand.  They're afraid to do much with it, because they know it will hurt.  Their awareness is narrowed down to this experience of a painful hand, and Sanford says this contributes to an enormous loss of freedom in our life.

The practice of yoga helps us to distribute our awareness throughout the whole body, so we are more than just that painful arthritic hand.  We can live more freely, and deal with more pain and discomfort, both physically and emotionally, if we can focus on our whole being and not just on the discomfort.

Our body, when we use it well, can help steady our mind, so that even though the pain and discomfort is still there, we aren't completely ruled by it.  We can maintain more of a sense of equanimity in the face of hardships.

Read about Matthew Sanford's journey through life, from the terrible car accident that killed his father and sister and left him as a paraplegic, through his painful rehabilitation, his introduction to yoga, and then on to become a yoga teacher and the founder of Mind Body Solutions, and an inspirational speaker.

I loved Waking -- it's a thoughtful and well-written book that shows how important it is to nurture our mind-body awareness so we can live more freely in our lives, no matter what our problems and disabilities are.

Mind Body Solutions offers adaptive yoga classes to people with disabilities, as well as "traditional" yoga classes for able-bodied people.   This non-profit organization also leads workshops for rehabilitation professionals and caregivers so they can learn practical mind-body techniques that will help the people they care for as well as themselves.

Mind Body Solutions has the new DVD, Beyond Disability: A Yoga Practice with Matthew Sanford, which is created for people of all abilities to experience the benefits of yoga in seated positions.   Matthew guides each section, while people with spinal injuries demonstrate.

Proceeds go to Mind Body Solutions, to help improve the lives of more people living with disabilities.