Mindy Sisco, yoga teacher specializing in how to fix chronic back pain, co-proprietor of Kaizen Yoga Korea, Busan’s first English yoga studio, lululemon ambassador, Nolita Festival creator and director.

Thank you so much for being here! I'm Mindy, and I'm thrilled to welcome you to a space where transformation and healing are made actionable. In today's blog post, I'm opening up about my own journey with yoga – a path that led me from self-doubt to strength, both inside and out. Beyond the shapes we make, this is a practice in building the path to freedom; freedom from chronic pain, freedom from restlessness in body and mind, and freedom from doubt and fear as we move through life. I’m sure we have often walked parallel paths and am so honored and humbled to be sharing this journey together.

You’re Born Lucky or Born Basic
(And Other Lies American High School Told Me About Having a Body)

My childhood experiences with sports and body image issues

My first best friend, Brooke, was a swimmer with talk of the junior olympics in her purview. Even at age 7 I felt a dullness next to her rising star and I envied her. This was the first of many comparisons I fixated on that pushed me further and further away from exploring my own movement. Middle school brought the segregation of “talent”- 12 and 13 year olds dissected into A, B and C teams as if their intramural volleyball wins against each other held stakes for Harding Middle School beyond exhausting and occupying rambunctious youth. High school added shame to the lack of talent. Not only was I unathletic- I was unathletic because I wasn’t thin and couldn’t run 2 miles non-stop like the thin girls. I wanted to run and I wanted to be thin and they were not mutually exclusive. High school also locked the door of dance for more than 20 years with a dance team audition that I still feel tying up my gut when allowing myself to remember it.

Discovering Yoga: An All-Consuming Romance

Surprising Challenges and Triumphs

I remember being cued to spread my toes- and I could do it. Not since the Bride in Kill Bill willed herself back on the path of vengeance one toe at a time has someone been so excited to see one of those little pigs fly.

Every day, I fell more and more in love with this practice that was equal parts surprisingly hard and surprisingly doable. Equal were the moments of, “I didn’t know I could do that!” as “am I SERIOUSLY seeing someone bend her body in a right angle?!”

My introduction to yoga felt like the beginning of an all consuming first romance- unscripted, intoxicating and electrifying. And like all voracious love affairs, I was fickle to the whims of jealousy.

Rivalry in Yoga Class: A Painful Lesson

There was a Before and a VERY Long After

I had come to the self-assessment of being “good at yoga” because I could touch my toes. (Yes, the toe-touching trope goes the other way too!) The irony of self-assessment is that inherent in assessment is some sort of control or comparison. My little T-rex arms got stuck reaching for a bind that the girl next to me was nailing with ease… a little too much ease because she wasn’t good at yoga, I was.
One day, I faced a new pose and a new kind of rivalry - the girl in class next to me who could effortlessly do the pose I struggled with. With one eye on my unsuspecting classmate and the other trying to find my other hand behind me to achieve the full grip of the pose, I heard a "pop." Suddenly, I was flooded with intense pain in my lower back, like hot syrup spreading from my hip in all directions.

The Back Pain Odyssey: A Decade of Discovery

A Decade Drowning in Pain and Fear

This incident started me on a decade-long journey figuring out how to fix back pain when bending over, how to fix back pain from sleeping, how to fix back pain from standing- there was no moment unaffected by back pain. And my life became saturated with fear. At its worst, I lost control of my legs for a full day after my back went into a full spasm from hours of mopping bar floors. At the time I was living in my sister’s basement and crawled up and down the stairs on my elbows to get to the bathroom.

Seeking Solutions: From MRIs to Yoga Mats

I’m not crazy. and I’m not weak. Why don’t you believe me?

Other days weren't as bad, but it still took a long time and a specific choreography just to get out of bed. I underwent MRIs, continued practicing yoga because I'd always heard "yoga is good for back pain," visited physical therapists who sent me home with outdated photocopies of exercise protocols, and faced yoga teachers who generically shamed me about having a "weak core." I tried to stay active and practice yoga, refusing to accept that this was a part of some degenerative problem, an inevitable aspect of "getting older," especially since I was only in my mid-20s and otherwise in good health.

A Turning Point with Madoka and Master Sudhakar

Learning to Listen to the Body

My determination to find relief and stop feeling overwhelmed by fear and pain led me to a workshop where I met Madoka and Master Sudhakar. During a session when I couldn't do what the rest of the group was doing, again feeling "less than" and nearly brought to tears, Madoka assisted me directly. She showed me how to open up space in my body, to stop overworking my lower back and instead channel the effort into parts of my body built to support me. They taught me how to heal my pain without surgery, injections, or building "abs of steel." I learned to interpret the signals of pain, to read and understand the feedback my body was giving me. This foundation of listening and responding to my body's feedback informed all of my subsequent healing work with others suffering from chronic pain.

Embracing a Life Beyond chronic low back Pain

Inspiring Hope and Healing for Others

Eventually, I took my body, which had spent its exuberant youth- my 20s, “my prime!”- in pain, fear, and on the brink of feeling completely crazy and out of control, into my 30s. This new decade was filled with discoveries like acroyoga, Thai massage in water and in air, dance, surfing, and the ability to endure many cramped discount flights. It is this life after pain, a world brimming with potential, a world defined by freedom, that I truly strive to impart to my clients experiencing their own battles with chronic pain.

Offering Hope and Healing to Others

How to Get Your Free Video: "Desk Exercises for Low Back Pain"

🌟 Special Offer for the Kaizen community! 🌟

If you work full time, ⅓ of your life can be spent at a desk. It takes more than a couple general group classes a week to undo this damage.

Join my newsletter today and receive an exclusive free video download: "Desk Exercises for Low Back Pain.” This video contains 3x 5-minute mini-follow-along tutorials with the 3 best exercises for low back pain in 3 different circumstances: 1) at your chair; 2) standing at your desk; 3) bathroom breaks. 4) Stay until the end for a bonus breathing tutorial to jumpstart your mental clarity, focus and attention for improved productivity.

🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️ Here's what you'll get:

A downloadable yoga routine video that you can access anytime, anywhere.

Easy-to-follow exercises specifically targeted to relieve back pain.

Techniques that fit perfectly into your busy workday – no special equipment needed!

💻 How to get your free video:
Join Mindy using the link below.

Receive your welcome email with the exclusive password-protected link.

Start enjoying your yoga breaks and feel the difference in your back and overall wellness!

👉 [Sign Up Below and Say Goodbye to Work-Related Back Pain!] 👈

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