Neena

A favorite excerpt from Meditations from the Mat, Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga written by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison:

"Within two months after my first yoga class, my arm was completely healed. About that time, I told my doctor that I was going to stop taking the thyroid pills I had been sentenced to for the rest of my life. We agreed to monitor my blood every three months. After the first three months, I was within spec - barely. My doctor thought I should go back on the pills, but I asked her for another three months. At my next checkup, my blood tests indicated that my thyroid was completely normal. It has stayed that way since. Reversal of this condition is quite rare. My doctor was amazed but she didn’t attribute it to yoga. I know, however, that I didn’t change anything else in my life. It had to be yoga.”
- Neena, yoga student, page 269

Self healing is one of the most creative and amazing powers we have. The body is born with this ability and the healthier we are, the stronger this power becomes. I, too, suffered for years with a thyroid condition, but I was not yet practicing yoga. I responded to my medication eventually and was able to overcome the condition. But I was still unhappy. While I wanted change in my life, I was unwilling to change my life. My intense desire for something that I thought would make me happy increased my level of unhappiness and only after I spent a long time working on accepting my imperfectly perfect self was I able to stop asking, “Why me?”
Doctors only know so much, and some don’t know much at all! Neena was willing to listen to her body and try to heal herself from the inside. Surprise to her doctor, it worked. Only six months after ceasing the medication was Neena again considered normal. Thyroid conditions can certainly be life long and can require surgery; there are many complication with metabolism, weight, mood, etc. I would guess that Neena was doing a fair amount of dandyamana bibhaktipada janushirasana.