How's this week been for you?

 

 

 

I feel sad, angry, frustrated, confused, and scared with all what is happening south of the border. My emotions are all jumbled up, amplified by the uncertainty of what lies ahead.

 

 

If I keep focusing on those events, I'll lose my emotional footing (and sleep).

I've done that back in March, when the pandemic just hit Canada, by watching all the news about the virus and reading every article and commentary that came out... I wound myself up so tightly it took many weeks to find my equilibrium (and I had to work real hard at it!)

 

 

This time around I am being much gentler with my mind. I shift my focus (even if temporarily) to other things to give the mind a much needed respite and also to utilize my energy in a more positive way.

 

 

 

 

 

If BASELINE is the foundation of a pain management strategy, then PACING  RIGHT is the framework of pain management success.

 

 

Without knowing where our BASELINE lies, we continuously wind up our nervous system, feeling more and more sore, scared, anxious, and frustrated as time goes by.

 

 

And if the PACING is off, we end up in a continuous cycle of boom and bust. We fill our good-feeling days right up to the brim; then pay for it for days or even weeks  - eventually ending right where we started - sore, frustrated, and afraid.

 

 

PACING is about figuring out how to reach up and grow out of our BASELINE. It is understanding how much activity we can add onto our plate each day to grow our range of function sustainably, yet avoid the crush -  burn - back to square one frustration of yet another flare up.

 

 

When we go to the gym, we mostly think about targeting / loading our muscles to get stronger. It is a little bit different when we are working our way out of persistent pain.

 

 

When working with pain that persists, we have to improve our muscle strength and tissue tolerance to movement in general. No doubt about that!

Yet we also have to address our nervous system tolerance to load - this includes physical as well as psychological stress.

 

 

Emotionally charged situations - kinda like what it has been for the last several months now -  add to the load our nervous system is carrying. That inevitably impacts our body's ability to tolerate physical loads and recover well.

 

 

 

I will continue to unpack this fine art of pacing as I get more feel for it.

For now though, with this concept of pacing and sustainable growth in mind, I am going to give my hard working writing muscle a well - an earned break.

HARD WORK + REST = GROWTH

 

 

You'll still get the updates about all the new yoga classes, virtual (for now) and live (hopefully soon!) Regular bi-weekly blog posts are on pause - till some time in August. THANK YOU so much for opening and reading my musings, for your continuous support and encouragement. I feel truly blessed!

 

 

 

See you soon, see you on the screen and on the mat!