Stretching the Truth

For the past two years or so, I've had pain in my hips. It has sort of migrated around. At one point, it was so bad that it was difficult for me to stand through two back-to-back classes and teach. By the end of the second one, I would be in tears.
Before that time, I had problems with my feet, which I still have. They would claw up, looking spastic. Sometimes it still happens when I drive, or most often, in yoga class. The only thing that can help is to have the yoga teacher, who weighs about 190 lbs, stand on my toes and flatten them out. It seems to have something to do with stretching my muscles, particularly in my left foot. It's as though the toes are being pulled up, like marionettes, in all directions, by strings tied to the muscles in my thighs and hips.
Yoga has been helpful in dealing with these pains. I tried acupuncture (nothing), and though the chiropractor improved things quite a lot, the pain is still with me. So I went back to the doctor. She sent me to an orthopedist, who said my joints are fine, but I seem to have bursitus in my left hip. I know that's not the only problem because my right back hip (SI joint) hurts when I sleep, and then there are those toes.
The orthopedist sent me to a physical therapist, and I went there for the first time yesterday. The pt was amazed at how tight my muscles were, especially since I do yoga every day. She said my flexibility was really limited, at least in my hips and legs. Of course, this is not really news to me.
I think I used to be worse before I did yoga as often as I do it now. I was never athletic; in fact, I was the kid who everyone would not want on the team. I wasn't even chosen last. I wasn't chosen at all. It didn't bother me though. I didn't give a crap for sports, though I like walking. I'm one of those people who has never been too good at spatial stuff. The ball would always hit me in the head. I would fall off the horse (usually the kind in gym, not a real horse). I slid down the ropes in gym class and burned the inside of my thighs. In fact, I was the only person in my high school to attend gym and get an F. That's quite a distinction.
So everyone was surprised when I took up yoga. I was ridiculous at first. People tried not to laugh at me when I started. But I didn't care. I didn't pay attention, and I just kept going back. Now I'm not laughable. That's an achievement, for me!
So when the pt wanted me to scale back the yoga, I strenuously resisted. I am sure the yoga isn't the reason I have pain. I know I've had yoga injuries. In fact, I snapped my hamstrings one day in class on the right side. It sounded like a rubber band. I'm not going to tell you how it felt!
And I injured the SI joint overdoing it on forward bends, more than once. But I have no idea where the pain in my left side comes from.
Yoga has given me peace. It's very hard for me to relax. I have sometimes gotten this from yoga, something I can't get any other way. I always feel otherwise that there are ants crawling all over me. I don't like to sit still too long. My mind darts around, and so does the rest of me. When I am tired, I am more like this than when I am not.
I can feel the connection between my mind and my body more than any other time when I do yoga, so the pt can dream on. I'm not going to scale back. I hope that the pain eases up though. I'll keep working on it.