They say yoga is about finding your balance and inner calm, but last December, I found the floor instead. I wasn’t attempting a death-defying handstand, but I was trying to show off a little bit with my transition from one move to another.

What went wrong?

While moving through a flow with some moves I’ve done many times before, a less-than-smooth transition from Crow Pose to a Plank Pose left me with a broken toe. I couldn’t help but feel a massive sense of panic and embarrassment. While these are natural emotions, I realize now I should have focused on how to recover, rather than obsessing over how long I’d be out of my workout routine.

Luckily my fitness journey didn’t come to a grinding halt, but I did have to test out what I was capable of without injuring myself further. Due to the location of the break, I was still able to walk, do strength training, and practice yoga with modifications:

• Upper Body Strength: Seated or lying down
• Core Work: Dead bugs or bird-dogs that don’t require toe pressure
• Low-Impact Yoga: Focusing on seated stretches or restorative poses

The struggle of the “forced reset”

As an everyday athlete who’s used to closing my rings on Apple Fitness+, being forced to lower my goals and take a break from running was a humbling lesson. It’s a side of fitness we rarely talk about: the forced reset. To keep up my energy while avoiding further injury, I turned to a lot of energetic flow yoga workouts with Dice and Jonelle, making sure to follow whichever trainer was showing the modifications.

Breaking my toe right before the holidays and the “New Year, New Me” season added an extra layer of mental challenge for me. I felt a bit silly and defeated, all because I was trying to show off a bit with my yoga transition between two moves.

Where do we go from here?

Even today, a couple of months later, my toe is still healing. I’m sure it would heal quicker if I took more time to truly rest, but my fear of losing progress often prevents me from taking the necessary time away from my wellness habit.

However, I’ve learned two vital lessons from this setback:

1. Movement is still movement: Even without running, modified yoga is still a valid workout.
2. Listening is a skill: Tuning into my body’s limits is a far more advanced skill than showing off a “cool” yoga move.

Have you ever had an injury that felt like a ‘silly’ mistake? How did you handle the mental side of the recovery? Let’s talk about it in the comments.