Yoga Journey

Spinal Fusion #4

Did you know yoga can be practiced by a person with steel and titanium rods from their neck to their hips? Well, it can and one of those persons is me, Star Kolb. I have scoliosis, an extreme curvature and rotation of the spine and I practice yoga.

In 2004, I took my hardest step in yoga, I attended a class. In the cliche “body obsessed" land of Los Angeles, I walked through the door in my old, stained stretch pants. Every pose that teacher offered I could not yet do, I cried in that class and I still cry at times. In that hour and half, I felt my mind and body in ways that I had never felt before and I knew I needed to find out more about this practice called Yoga.

In my yogic education from the Rocky Mountains to the Himalayas, I practiced and taught the ancient and modern approaches of yoga. In Moab, I learned to meditate daily with mantra. In my Thai jungle hut, I learned self discipline by practicing from dawn to dusk. In my fly infested yoga ashram in Rishikesh, India I learned complete stillness in final relaxation. There have been times when I’ve practiced yoga on my head, and at other times I was only able to practice from my bed, always watching and disciplining my breath, my thoughts. Today, four spinal fusions later and grateful for every step. I feel this is possible because I continue to practice yoga.

Once, when I was about to quit, one of my teachers said, “Your body will finds its way.” So, whether you are young or old, recovering from surgery, suffering from depression, stress, addiction, chronic pain, or any number of challenges that arise while being in a physical body, or simply want to relax, I invite you and your body to find your way to a yoga class.