This week, a student asked me how this work relates to recovering from an injury.
After the immediate physical trauma, there’s a whole journey of healing that needs to happen.
It won’t always be linear, and it takes time and support.
I’ve found that having an injury can heighten our sensitivity, and deepen our awareness if we allow it to.
Here’s five steps for working with an injury. It is by no means a replacement for medical care.
In fact, I think of this as “post-care.”
If you’ve ever dealt with an injury, you know what I mean. Sometimes it can feel like that injured place never quite recovers, or like our body continues to compensate for years to come. These steps can help re-integrate the injured part (or parts) back into our nervous system.
I draw on the tools I’ve learned from Ann Rodiger, Amiel Malale, Gwen Ellison, and more.
Five steps for working with an injury.
1. Settle the injured place and yourself. Try: Extending your exhale while lying in semi-supine & some gentle self-touch.
2. Educate yourself on the injured part and how it relates to your whole, through muscles, fascia, nerves, etc. Mapping the area may be useful.
3. Look at how you’re doing your physical therapy exercise- not just what you’re doing.
4. Re-integrate the injured part into your embodied sense of yourself.
5. Reclaim a sense of safety inside of your activity.
Ultimately, pairing up with an practitioner can really help you along your journey toward feeling whole again.
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