23/04/2026
Thanks to our long term student Kerryn for sharing her story on yoga and recovery from injury❤️🙏
“The Healing Power of Iyengar Yoga”
It was a crisp, bluebird Friday in February in Whitewater, British Columbia.
Our last day of a four-week ski safari, and our plan was to take things easy. I was feeling strong, confident, and ready for more challenging skiing, so I had just purchased a new set of skis, which I was taking for their first outing so we could get to know each other.
It was cold on the hill, and the sun was just peeking over the Ymir Ridge. The lower runs were still in the shade. The snow was overnight-groomed, hard-packed powder, yet to soften in the morning sunshine, and snow crystals hung in the air.
My first warm-up run went smoothly, but I wasn’t keen to join our usual ski group, preferring instead to play around with my new skis. I agreed to a second run.
Hanging back from the group, trying to concentrate on the feel of carve and acceleration underfoot, I saw the group take a left fork into the shade. A last-minute change in direction, and I was suddenly airborne. My new skis were left behind as I flew through the air. My left cheekbone hit first, protected a little by my helmet, then my left shoulder slammed into the hard, flat surface.
I sat up and realised my left arm was like a bird with an injured wing. Crawling back to retrieve my skis, I awaited help, knowing it would be my first ride in an Akja rescue sled and an ambulance trip down the hill.
The head of my humerus was shattered, so it was a long and painful journey home to Melbourne with a rapidly swelling arm and chest wall. Surgery was arranged exactly one week after the accident, and I woke with a plate and eight screws holding my shoulder back in place, along with a large foam block and squeeze ball under my left arm. This would become my close companion for the next twelve weeks.
My surgeon was understanding and kind. He knew I wanted to return to open-water swimming and my love of the sea. I wanted to be able to do yoga and Downward Dog, perhaps even handstand again. I wanted to move across the earth without pain or restriction—running, hiking, biking, skiing, and enjoying my garden. I was determined.
“It will take one to two years,” he said.
We moved to the Somers beach house, where we had a large outdoor shower, few stairs, and a wonderful sun-catching deck.
My husband was protective and nurturing. He dressed and washed me. He cooked, cleaned, and held me. He put up with my tears, my struggle to sleep upright, my frustration with immobility, and the fog of pain and exhaustion.
I have practised Iyengar yoga for over twenty years. I first started when I was struggling with a chronic Achilles tendon injury and realised that my years of running, tennis, swimming, and skiing needed to be balanced with something that included flexibility, strength, and balance, while also helping with stress reduction.
Iyengar yoga was the perfect choice.
I am a retired women’s health GP. I love the Iyengar approach and the teachers’ strong knowledge of anatomy. I love the alignment my body feels after a class, the use of props that make poses accessible to everyone, and the way Iyengar yoga can be used for healing.
I love the inversions, standing poses, backbends, and breathwork. I love the reduction in nervous energy and the restoration of calm after a class or time on my yoga mat at home. I knew Iyengar yoga was going to help me heal.
I first met Irma Jonikaite at St Kilda Iyengar Yoga School(SKYS).
Her Saturday classes were legendary. Irma had an amazing approach to yoga as a tool for coping with physical and emotional injury. I once heard her reassure a hesitant student:
“It’s only pain—back pain. We will be able to work with this.”
And she did, using props, blankets, and a huge dose of encouragement in her gentle way.
I scheduled a visit with Irma at The Yoga Co. Just one week after my shoulder surgery.
The wound was fresh and the bruising multicoloured. I had some gentle neck massage, and we discussed the very simple standing poses I could do. I left feeling positive.
The first twelve weeks were difficult. Pranayama helped me relax, become more centred, sleep, and breathe away the pain. I woke early and took short walks, enjoying the sunrise, bare feet on the sand and in the sea. I could do limited standing poses against a wall.
After three months, I could remove my underarm wedge support and transition to a sling. I had a completely frozen shoulder with significant muscle wasting through the shoulder girdle.
My experienced shoulder physiotherapist guided me through my rehabilitation programme—gently at first, with simple trapezius shrugs and a wooden spoon used to help abduct my frozen shoulder. I increased my time out of the sling and could do more standing poses using only my right arm.
As a GP, I knew shoulder anatomy, but it was Iyengar yoga that gave me the ability to isolate my shoulder blades, hold my posture, and work the individual shoulder and back muscles.
It is now two years and two months since my injury. In yoga class today, I was able to do Ardha Adho Mukha Vrksasana—half handstand.
It was a moment of joy and clarity. No pain. A feeling of my old strength returning.
I truly believe a full handstand is now achievable, perhaps even a full backbend.
I can swim an easy 1.5 kilometres in the ocean. I hiked the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt in 2025, pulling myself over boulders and up rock faces. I have returned to skiing, and the area where I fell is now cordoned off so no other skiers can injure themselves.
I am grateful every day I stand in my yoga mat & salute the sun ☀️
