Back off, back up, be nice

The other day, a friend of mine said she hurt her back and needed help.  She said she could hardly bend over.  She asked me what to do and I said to take some time away from the gym and let it heal. The funny thing is, as I was talking with her, she was on her way to the gym.  I told her to turn around and go home but she decided to go anyway.

Now you are probably thinking she should have went home.

But you probably also recognize the feeling of being slightly better and returning to your old routine only to find yourself hurting again.

We think we are fine and that our body has healed and we don’t listen.

When you get an injury your body NEEDS to heal.  It is like getting sick.  Sometimes it takes 4 days to get over a cold, sometimes 3 weeks, depending on how bad it is.  You take vitamin C and E and eat tons of veggies. And you sleep.  But when you injure yourself, you quickly go back to your normal routine as soon as you feel a little less pain.

Learn to back off, back up, be nice to your body.  It is nice to you.  It moves you, it lives you, it does what you tell it to. Let it heal!

With Love Shauna

PS:  Yoga is a fantastic tool for learning to get deeply in touch with your body.  As you practice yoga you are developing communication between your body and mind.  As you tell your body what to do, your body responds and tells you what it needs.