You heard the *pop*, felt the snap or that ‘ting’ of an old injury… you bypassed the expert field of your friends and go to a doctor. Yes, validated – you’re injured. Depending on the degree you get cast, braced or iced. Some even get to look forward to a lovely six plus weeks with a Physical Therapist – or personal torturer depending on your pain threshold.
Now… you go back to the studio. Your level of fitness has dropped and your pants fit tight. Everyone is great and welcomes you back. You lament your former self before the injury. You want to push hard and get back to where you were, but you can’t. Your body isn’t ready to take you there and its frustrating. You can go with anger or sadness and neither help.
Ego is the main culprit. Its a blow to be unable to do what you could the few weeks before. Its very close to the first time you entered the studio – and self consciousness reappears. You might even have thoughts of giving up and buying bigger pants. You will think of at least five excuses to keep you stagnant. You eye the ice cream, pretty sure its flirting with you. (“What’s up Ben, Jerry? How YOU doin’?”)
But you can’t. You have to ‘suck-it-up’ and get back in there. Follow the instructions from your doctor and don’t give up. Keep moving forward with a few more weeks of lower intensity and being mindful of the response your injury is giving you. Stretch before bed. Drink more water. AND keep going to classes. Slow and steady wins the race – that race needs a starting line. Today.