Today's post follows last week's conversation on movement and exercise - or, more correctly, answers the most COMMON question / comment I've heard afterward:
OK, so movement and exercise are not the same.
Got it.
What the heck am I supposed to do now?!
We'll get to that in a moment (OK, maybe in 90 seconds), but
before we do, here is a funny story.
My left shoulder has been pretty sore lately - which is not all that uncommon for me at the tail end of the backpacking season. Some of you who attend classes might have noticed that I've been sporting a warming patch to keep it happy.
Last week one of my private
clients walked in and upon noticing the above mentioned warming patch, exclaimed,
" Julia, what did you do to your shoulder?!"
I went on to patiently explain that this is not that unusual for me to have a sore
shoulder past backpacking season (I've realized since then that it is not so much the backpack as the abrupt transition from backpacking to loooooots of computer work that is the culprit. Sigh!)
"Phew!"
she said,
"It's good to know that you are human, just like the rest of us."
Hey, I'm happy to help - in any way I can...
Speaking of helping - this "shoulder thing" has happened two years in a row now, which in my world means one thing and one thing only - time to figure this shoulder business out, once and for all.
A side benefit for everyone involved - once I sort out my own shoulder situation, I can help you sort out yours as well {figuring out my own stuff is how I came to teach pain care, hip mobility and core stability
topics}.
Watch for a new crop of shoulder TLC classes sometime in February - March.
Now back to today's subject of "what the heck am I supposed to do now?"
I've teamed up yet again with my super-duper talented graphic designer Melanie to create this step - by - careful step visual of how you can
get from
"I hurt! HEEEEEELP!"
to
"I feel better than I did 20 years ago!"
Me + my currently cranky shoulder are between steps 2 and 3, while my legs and hips are happily occupying steps 4 + 5 :)
P.S. I was very proud to share this new brain child with my partner who has an excellent eye for all things visual (he is a filmmaker after all!)
His first question was, "So should everyone start at step 1?"
Great point!
My answer?
"Nope.
Start wherever, but be respectful of your body's
current needs."
Most of us want to feel stronger.
So do I and my currently periodically-sore shoulder.
But I know for a fact that strengthening without Reset + Repair can turn into a slick crapshoot faster thank I can blink (tried this a few more times than I care to admit), so I am taking the slow step-by-step road to my guaranteed
success.
How about you, ?
