I don’t believe in proselytising. Aside from anything else, I think it’s bad manners. But… I confess I am prone to a certain enthusiasm when it comes to the myriad benefits of practicing yoga. Having practiced seriously now for over seven years, I’m a hopeless convert and can’t imagine ever stopping. And the fabulous thing about yoga (uh-oh, here she goes) is that you CAN always do it, regardless of age and ability, because it is always your personal practice.
So, this is not proselytising… but I do want to share this extraordinary four minute Youtube video that shows a remarkable physical and mental transformation through a combination of yoga and determination. In 2007, Arthur Boorman was a 47 year old paratrooper who had served in Iraq during the Gulf War. For 15 years he had been living with crippling, chronic pain from, as he puts it, too many jumps. He wears a back brace, two knee braces and cannot walk without the aid of two crutches. Doctors have told him he will never walk unaided again. While continuing to work as a special education teacher, he is disabled, morbidly obese (297 lbs/135 kg at 5’8”) and depressed. Boorman’s story is part of a wider documentary project about ‘inspiration’ and here is a warning: there is a predictable but modest quota of cheesiness involved. But acknowledging that, this short video about him, shot and edited in time-lapse fashion over ten months, shows the kind of transformation that really does make your jaw drop and your chest swell.
Watch and tell me you don’t believe yoga is the best thing ever….
