The castle doors are between the prince and his sleeping beauty.
The prince approaches the large wooden doors with determination. He has been struggling for over an hour now to reach Sleeping Beauty. He has made his way through the thorn bushes and across the moat. All that remains is getting through these doors and into the castle. At last he will be able to save Sleeping Beauty.
Alice and her kids have watched the movie many times. The best part is when Sleeping Beauty wakes up after the handsome prince kisses her. The next moment they are dancing all over the room celebrating her awakening.
Sleeping Beauty may be able to go from sleeping for years to dancing all over the room in a heart beat but it is not the same in your yoga practice.
What is the Sleeping Beauty effect
Alice got hit by the Sleeping Beauty effect last year. She injured her heel and had to take a break from her yoga practice. It took a long time for her heel to recover and for her to get back to her previous level of ability.
The Sleeping Beauty Effect happens when you are forced to interrupt your yoga practice. There are a wide variety of reasons why your practice gets interrupted. Perhaps you have an injury. Maybe you have been travelling a lot.
It does not matter the reason, once you interrupt your yoga practice you become Sleeping Beauty and this has an impact on you.
What is the impact of the Sleeping Beauty Effect
There are two areas that the Sleeping Beauty Effect has on you and your body.
You lose some of the strength that you have built up from your yoga practice. Your flexibility starts to go away as well.
These two impacts happen over time. They get worse the longer that you are in the Sleeping Beauty mode of your yoga practice.
Alice did not get kissed by a handsome prince, but her heel did heal and she resumed her yoga practice. She did not start back at the same level of ability that she had before. It took her a while to recover from the Sleeping Beauty Effect.
How to recover from the Sleeping Beauty Effect
Alice’s teacher told her that she is not in the same place in her yoga practice. She has lost strength and flexibility.
Alice needs to be patient. Giving her Ego the Sleeping Beauty Effect and putting it to bed is a good first step. Alice realizes that she has moved back in time. She will be working to rebuild her strength and flexibility.
Alice discovers that her Edge is not in the same place that it was when she stopped her practice. Her Edge has moved backwards a little bit compared to where she was in a pose before Sleeping Beauty came by to take her away.
It takes a while to return to your previous level of yoga practice after you have been hit by the Sleeping Beauty Effect.
Her teacher told Alice that it is best to start back gradually. Immediately resuming a six day a week practice is challenging and could result in new injuries. Starting with a couple of times a week gets Alice safely on the road to recovery.
Alice increased the frequency of her practice over time as her strength and stamina returned.
How long will it take to recover
The only answer to this is that it depends. It depends on how long you have been away from your yoga practice, how old you are and how often you were practising before.
Your strength will start to rebuild first then your flexibility will start to return.
Different parts of your body recover at different rates. Your hamstrings may start to lengthen again before your hip flexibility starts to improve. It will be different for each person.
It may take a couple of months for most of your strength and flexibility to return. Some areas of your body may take longer.
Recovering from an injury.
Alice injured her heel and it was too painful for her to do her usual yoga practice. She took a break until her heel recovered. It took six months before she could resume her yoga practice.
Once she got back to her practice she had to rebuild her strength and restore the flexibility that she had lost.
It took several months for her to resume her 6 days a week schedule. She started with two days a week. Once her strength and stamina started to improve she went to 3 days a week. After a couple of months she added another day.
Alice monitored her stamina and is adding another day a week when she is ready. Soon she will be back to her regular six days a week.
Summary
Unlike Sleeping Beauty you can not resume your yoga practice at the same level of intensity, frequency and ability. It is going to take weeks and months to get back to your former level of ability.
Next Step
When you return to your yoga practice after a break, talk to your yoga teacher about how best to restart. They will take into account your previous practice, how long you have been away, and the reason that you had to take a break. They will help you to develop a resumption plan.
Additional Reading
Returning to a yoga practice can be risky. This article How do you hurt yourself in yoga class gives some guidance on how to avoid injuring yourself.
Before resuming your yoga practice consider a safe driving course. Why a Yoga Defensive Driving course is required for a safe practice.
Why you should follow the Sun’s approach to achieve your yoga goals safely is a good article to read before you return to your yoga practice.
