Navigating Injury, Illness, Trauma aka The Healing Experience
I was voxering* back and forth with one of my runners who has been moving through some tendinitis, and I found myself sharing with her a conversation I had with myself just the other day with myself as I’ve tended to my own ankle tendinitis.
You’re not new here if you know I call injuries/illness/trauma a healing experience. My teacher and soul sister (shout out Maya B!) imparted her reclamation with me, and I’ve integrated it into my own body and teachings.
Here’s my understanding:
A healing experience is one in which a rupture may happen, AND you then learn from it, grow from it, evolve from it, and use it as wisdom as you move forward.
A healing experience is one in which the comeback is stronger than the setback.
A healing experience is one in which you are able to put into practice any past (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) training.
A healing experience is one that allows you to deepen your relationship with yourself, your body- the incredible vessel you call home.
A healing experience allows you to rest, recover, soften, and strengthen.
Names matter. And how we speak to ourselves matters.
Each healing experience we move through is like kintsugi art. Kintsugi art is the practice of using gold thread to piece together broken pottery, thus leaving the pottery or ceramic even more vibrant and vivacious than before. This gold thread is tantamount to my work in how I see the body, how I see former and/or chronic injury, trauma, and illness.
When a flare-up occurs, it’s totally normal for us to feel any sort of trepidation, anxiety, fear, or scaredness before getting back to our movement practice, especially if it’s one that was sustained during said practice.
Think of a time when you had an argument with someone close to you. There was a rupture, a point of contention, disagreement, conflict, and perhaps argument. Eventually, after time or a breath, you repaired it.
This relationship didn’t automatically dive right back into best friendship or the close proximity that you were before. It took time to build that trust again- perhaps through hangouts, phone calls, or whatever aligned action towards the intention of building that relationship back again.
Perhaps, after that rupture though, you were closer than you were before because you have now gotten to know each other on a deeper level, a whole different layer or aspect of the person. Perhaps, this rupture strengthened your bond and connection.
It’s the same thing with a healing experience in our body.
It takes time, aligned action, relationship building, and tending to our bodies to regain our trust, confidence, and maybe even love after a healing experience.
Our relationship may be fragile, sensitive, and tender as we build back. And, as I mentioned before, the comeback is always stronger than the setback.
Here are three ways I’m gentle with myself after a healing experience:
Mindset. Comparing my body today to the body before my healing experience is a no-no. Comparison- even to oneself- is the thief of joy. Meet yourself right here, right now. Scaffold your training to where you are TODAY, not where you “left off.” After nearly 4 months of no running, I did not return to my average runs; rather, I picked up with easy run/walk intervals, rebuilding my base so my body was able to catch up.
Feeling the feelings. There’s no emotion or feeling that’s “bad,” or “wrong.” Angry and frustrated? YEP. Annoyed and irritated? Has a place here. At peace? Absolutely. Each healing experience has it’s own complexities so there’s no point in shaming yourself for feeling anything. This is where we can practice grounding for when the mind spirals.
Seasonal Humaning. Each season has it’s own unique signature- similar to where we wear bathing suits in the summer and boots in the winter, our training seasons be different. While my physical practices definitely shifted, from running 20+ mi per week to zero, this is where I knew the mental, emotional, and spiritual training would ramp up while my physical training dialed down. I gave myself proper containers for yoga, mobility, recovery, cross-training, and sleep.
*voxer is the voice & text app I use with the runners I work with.
