We live on a farm on a hill, and a few months back I impressively fell down while walking downhill. In reality, I have bitten it on this hill at least 5 times now. Long story short, I was wearing the wrong shoes for the amount of wet that is Bergen, Norway (I have since purchased a good pair of hiking boots). I fell on my ass hitting my right elbow. After my butt healed quickly, my back required a massage to feel handled, and my right shoulder just could not start feeling better.
A month passed and one day I picked up a bag in an awkward position. All of the sudden my shoulder popped into place. Apparently it was not exactly where it is supposed to be located. Now, another month later, it is still hurting so I finally went and saw a doctor just to see what was taking so long.
Well, I have tendinitis in my shoulder which means I am not supposed to be using it for 4-6 weeks. As in: no yoga even allowed. Naturally, I went grocery shopping right after as it is right next to my doctor’s office and carried home 2 Ikea bags’ worth of groceries, along with a backpack filled with 4 bottles of water and other heavy liquids.
The thing is, I know better than to do things like this yet it is so ingrained within me that this is the right thing to do. Even though I tell others to give themselves time to heal, I am fully honest that it is a massively huge learning spot still for me. I have stuff to get done!
So, by ignoring what I am told to do and not allowing myself to heal, what am I really doing? First, I am slowing down or negating any energy my body has been putting towards healing my shoulder. I am not honouring myself, what my body is telling me, my recovery, or even my future as I do not get a replacement body – it is mine for life.
Yeah, how often do all of us do this? I know of few people that actually do the slow down thing our body is requesting in these moments. “I must power through!” “There is so much to get done that I can’t possibly slow down!”
So today, I am listening to and honouring my body. One moment at a time if I have to. I actually took Advil to give my shoulder a little break. Soon after I took a salt bath to give my body time to relax. This is actually hard for me to give permission to myself to do as, even after a year of living in Europe, I still naturally go to the American theory of always be doing something.
What do you do to avoid allowing yourself to heal whether from a physical injury or emotional? What if, instead of pushing through, you slowed down, allowed yourself to feel everything your body is telling you, and honour it?