During the winter of 2014 we had serious ice dams with water flooding our home from the ceiling. We had a roofer come who came to rescue us with a very fair price cleaning the snow off of the roof and explaining to us what we needed to do to prevent ice dams in the future. I will always remember his quote, "It's counterintuitive to the laws of physics."
Although the physiatrist, PT's and OT's I met after being diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards told me that if I used it I would lose it, I knew deep inside of me that I needed to use it - all of it - or I would lose it and any quality of life I hoped for. I understand the science they used to make the determination that anyone with a progressive neuromuscular disease needed to "preserve" the functioning they had. Eleven years ago the concepts of neuroplasticity and regeneration of nerve cells was fairly new.
It was counterintuitive to move when I was in so much pain and suffered from chronic fatigue.
Once I got started with a consistent health and wellness regimen, I gained momentum in healing the effects of childhood paralytic polio and trauma.
But I still have my days when the alarm clock goes off that I don't want to move.
I made a promise to myself early on in my healing odyssey that I was going to experience pain whether or not I got moving and worked out. I decided that I would rather hurt on the side of health and wellness than experience the pain that comes with disuse and atrophy. Allison Lamarre-Poole was an earth angel sent to me shortly after my diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome. She did not subscribe to the philosophy of "If you use it you will lose it" and gave me confidence and guidance to begin healing the breach in my mind/body connection. At my last session with her I told her that I would never go back to where I was when I first started working with her.
As I continue to use new muscles living as active and vibrant a life as I possibly can, engaging in new exercises and new activities, I develop pain and soreness.
Yesterday was one of those days when I felt sore and tired. It was counterintuitive to bring out my home gym equipment and get into a 40 minute strength training workout. Yet once I did, the blood was flowing, the energy moving and I must tell you that breakfast always tastes better after a workout.
I am learning to trust my body's wondrous and vast capacity to heal after overdoing it or pushing myself during a run. I used to live in fear of my body but now I play in that wonderful space of being outside my comfort zone yet inside the injury zone.
It's counterintuitive ('to the law of physics') that I ran the 2009 Boston Marathon, healed my left knee after being told I'd need a total knee replacement in a few years after a serious knee injury in December of 2014, grew a new gastroc muscle that had atrophied in the wake of paralytic polio and that I am not in a wheelchair, needing a sleep apnea machine and a shower chair and the list goes on and on, as the doctors and therapists predicted in January of 2007 at my Team Meeting at the Post-Polio Clinic.
It's a miracle of healing that I have been blessed to co-create with the Divine Intelligence within and around me.
Even though there are times when I feel tired and in pain and it's counterintuitive that moving will help me feel better, once I get moving the pain recedes in the background and I move forward in my health and wellness journey!
To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours,
Mary
Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.
Be sure to visit my website by following this link.
My books are available on Amazon.
Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life
Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:
And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
No comments:
Post a Comment