This blog hopes to inspire you to keep "moving" toward healing. Sometimes in my yoga classes, I tell the story of Sheila. I loved Sheila; she was a wonderful person, full of life, and always quick to answer when I asked if anyone had anything on their Mind or inspiration for our practice. "No pigeon," Sheila would say.
I won't complete the story's ending; you'll get my point. It was one of those moments when you receive information that blows your Mind, and the whole world suddenly freezes, when the studio owner told me they had found a mass in Sheila's hip. And while I love to be around people who live authentically, I often wonder why some of us do everything possible to avoid the "elephant in the room" by creating a stall for it to live rather than face what appears.
I imagine we wall off parts of ourselves, hoping things will get better. I am all for the hope part, but we might benefit from adding hopeful action to the situation. When we try to avoid a topic, we don't; we figuratively swallow it, hoping our digestive system can bear the stress. Avoiding a part of the body because it hurts is not different. Everything that happens to us is for us not to go around but to break it down and move it through.
First, it is essential to understand ourselves. It's so important to have a way to check in with the Body and Mind regularly and know what is shifting. Next, when there is a shift, don't jump to conclusions. Be with it. It is essential to have a way to be with the Body/Mind as it goes through shifts and changes. It is crucial to have a way to navigate the process of being a human being; exploring and communicating with self and others. Fright, flight, freeze, and fawn are transient responses of the nervous system. When the nervous system gets stuck in any of these, we must find a way to be resilient and get unstuck (how is a whole other topic.) The point, it's never a good time to stay in a continual state of stop and hope. Relax, rest, and return to hopeful action; that's one thing. Stop and hope for the best without any effort or movement in the direction of healing; that's completely different.
The circulatory system provides all tissues with nutrients and oxygen for healing. Muscles get lots of blood flow through contracting and stretching and are in a good environment for healing. Does this remind anyone of a practice called fascia yoga? For your reference, I found a nice article on healing muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, cartilage, and nerves. Spoiler alert, the piece starts with muscle injuries from imbalances, usually from weak stabilizing muscles and the moving muscles doing too much work. Do you know of a practice that helps build strength in the core stabilizing muscles, through the movement and breath control?
The article brings insight into the importance of circulation and the right kind of movement regarding healing, the key word being movement. Even with cartilage which doesn't have a blood supply, inactivity has adverse effects. For the article check out. https://symmetryptaustin.com/healing-expectations-for-different-tissue-types/
What if your injury is an invitation to slow down to connect more deeply with yourself? Try spending more time, not less moving toward healing. Try many shorter sessions of exploring. Try experimenting with tapping into your core strength by engaging more lower core muscles and finding a sense of alignment with a new center of gravity. Why not try a recorded fascia class and take the entire day to get through it?