Band aids

Riffing off of a comment from yesterday's blog. Talking about physical changes. JL, a long time student and a great source of inspiration said on a Facebook comment, "mind over matter right? But a good massage can help."

Yes JL- ultimately mind over matter, and practically speaking when working with a physical injury or malaise, it may be not enough to think "relax my shoulders" or "stop leaning to the left" or stop tilting my head to the right," at some point, I actually have to physically change what I am doing. Otherwise the massage is just a bandaid. 

I see this frequently in yoga class. People come in with a variety of ailments, and in spite of their own good intentions, they continually repeat the same set if movement patterns that either caused it in the first place, or continue to exacerbate it. 

Why? Because at some point, they thought they were doing the right thing. They thought what they were doing was helpful. And it probably was. But we get stuck in the past or fixated on the future. "I will learn to handstand no matter what!"  I applaud the willpower if that statement, but if someone has been practicing, and still isn't handstanding, then maybe 1) they need to keep practicing, or 2) they haven't found the most efficient way to practice for them. And if a person wanting to learn to handstand has a shoulder or wrist injury, then they need to be aware that their journey will be different than the person who is not injured. 

If you want to run a marathon, at some point you have to start walking. If you have a sprained ankle and have no cardio fitness,  your starting point will be different than someone who already runs 5 miles a day. The 5 mile "head start" dies not guan tree a faster result. The 5 mile head start person could think they can skip steps and get injured, knocking them out of the race. Te ankle sprain may also skip steps and keep reinjuring the ankle, but they may also accept where they are, forget that they were a distance runner back in high school, and start at the beginning. For them. And win the race.

Yes, a massage can help, but at some point, we have to start physically dealing with our patterns, habits, injuries, but changing how we move. Like carrying that heavy handbag on the other shoulder. Or get a roller bag. Or stop handstanding until it gets better, and then start at the beginning and systematically change how you were handstanding in the first place so you don't reinjure yourself. Because if you keep stepping in the same home everyday, that ankle sprain will probably not go away. 

Unless you are training yourself to not be physically or emotionally affected by stepping in the hole. Then carry on my wayward son! There'll be peace when you are done. Or a shitload of doctor bills.

Or put a bandaid on it. I like the kind with cartoons.

;)