Since the pandemic, I have invested a lot of time and energy into healing old injuries that were affecting my mobility and holding back my endurance. Along the way, I sustained a new injury to my left knee on the dance floor, actually! That partially torn meniscus, partially torn ACL and stretched out MCL were mighty mighty painful, and it took a good nine months to just be able to walk down the stairs without taking them one at a time. Needless to say, I have been building up to get to a certain level of fitness so that I could do the rigorous dancing that I enjoy, especially going low, I'm from DC you know, we dance go-go!
In any case, I enrolled in an all women's gym here on the Cape (I will dedicate another post just about that) and I started training really hard, encouraged by being in a community of fitness enthusiasts and having trainers to work with. I was enjoying the boxing classes and pushing myself right up until my body started showing signs that I had gone too far. During week four, I had strained my lower back and a few days later, my IT band which goes from the hip down to the knee was also strained. Naturally, I took it easy and kept with my routine, and then I got a massive muscle spasm going from my skull down to the left shoulder which was so painful that I could barely move that arm for about three days and the rest of the week I could not even entertain the thought of typing.
I am still healing from all this, I went to a massage therapist and for cranial sacral treatment and have been supporting the ligaments and nerves with herbal remedies. Soaking in herbal recovery baths, stretching what can be stretched and resting what must be rested. Adherence to my routine is also important, I am still going to the gym if even just to do very little just to keep in the habit. I noticed right away that having less intense cardio has affected my moods, it's a struggle to be positive, to be happy-go-lucky. I miss the aggressive movements! Not only that, but I thought I had worked my way to this level gradually.... Furthermore, I have been so disappointed, as I was sure of being more self-aware of my body's limitations and capacity. Once again, it's time to reassess and accept my state with compassion. I recognize that I have worked very hard to get here, and it's necessary to flex my patience to just do what I can, trusting that I am getting there one day at a time.
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