Yoga and Me Grace Tiberia

My costume glitters in the black light of the backstage area, my body tensing up, my mind telling it to relax. The curtain opens slowly while the clapping from the audience ceases. The music comes on, and my routine begins. I have every movement memorized, my muscle memory guides me through the steps. But something feels different from the countless other times I have performed. For a second I can’t figure out why, until, as I pose, I catch a glimpse of my left foot, hidden beneath a big, grey, boot.

I began dancing when I was three years old. I loved every aspect of it, the costumes, the music, the teachers, watching the older girls, and above all, performing.

Yet seventh grade was the start of my injuries. After falling in gym class, the next four years of my life were spent watching my dance classes, going to the doctor, and extensive physical therapy. Due to my injuries, I made the difficult decision to not audition for my dance company junior year. I knew I could not go from devoting all my energy into one activity, to putting no energy into anything at all. I needed a new passion but I was unclear as to what that would be.

As an outlet, I did yoga more frequently than I had in the past. Unbeknownst to me, during that time...