Uneven

I think one of the reasons it's hard for people without BPI to comprehend what it means for those of us that do is because they see it as an isolated problem. A simple shoulder injury that affects only actions in need of a left (or right) shoulder. But that's not the case at all. Not only does it affect my hand, elbow, fingers, and general strength but my brachial plexus injury also slightly throws off my entire body. My back is affected, my neck is affected, my hip, even my legs! My BPI doesn't just restrict me when I need two arms but in many other situations. I've been noticing this in yoga lately. Pretty much every yoga pose, or at least a variation of it, is made awkward by my left shoulder. From warrior two to downward dog to tree pose to even forward fold and child's pose! Focusing on my breath in yoga is made difficult by the constant attention that my uneven body demands. And these continuously uneven poses are most likely only throwing off my body even more. My downward dog leans and my forward fold stretches my right leg more than my left. Besides yoga, carrying  more than two things quickly gets uncomfortable, pulling up my pants is uneven, shampooing my hair, driving, even sleeping. Noticing my unevenness makes me claustrophobic in my own body and let me tell you, that is a horrible feeling. BPI would be easier to deal with if it was only detrimental for my shoulder. I really wish it was. And I wouldn't expect anyone without a brachial plexus injury to realize that it isn't. But maybe this helped those of you understand a little better.