Written By Alan Good
Are you suffering from what is termed, “disuse atrophy’? You want to do more but your body says, “No!” You have sat, or lain, so long because of some challenge you have experienced, and now you are bed-ridden or chair-attached.
Now, not everyone who has endured a disease or surgery can become what he/she once was. But pain in movement in even the most challenging illness can perhaps be lessened. First, who has told you, “This is it!”? And did you ask for a second opinion?
Following up on earlier articles where we discussed knowing ourselves and knowing what is best for us, as well as not always taking for granted what a health specialist may say, there may come a time in your life when you are given advice that may cause you more damage than good.
Now, as I have stated, I am not a medical specialist, just a 72-year-old who exercises regularly. I have had several surgeries for serious diagnosis over the past ten years. However, after each such pause in my regularly scheduled life I have returned to the one thing that not only strengthens me but grounds me, my daily weight and band exercises.
Information or advice may come from your doctor, or a loved one, and though well-meaning may not be the right prescription. Being told to stop physical exercise, for example, can cause us to feel over the hill or out of shape, the muscles to shrink and the bones to become brittle.
I’m not talking about getting right off the surgical cart and doing 50 push-ups. But knowing your own limits means knowing when and how much to do. Notice I said, YOUR own limits. It means living the life you know you can live, despite other opinions.
Wrong advise, even too much advise, can cause worry and stress as we sit and contemplate what has just occurred and what we think may be our future. We may build a psychological life around our preoccupations with our illness, injury, or disability while the rest of our life is on hold and atrophying.
“Unwittingly we may be driving a wedge between ourself and our own well-being,” says Jon Kabat-Zinn, in his book, “Full Catastrophe Living”.
As they say in casino ads, “know your limits, work within it”, (I paraphrased). The only way to find those limits is to explore carefully and mindfully. Which brings us to another point; mindfulness while doing anything, even exercise.
You are responsible for reading your own body’s signals while doing exercise of any sort. This means listening carefully to what your body is saying to you and honouring those messages. But if you must err, do so on the side of being conservative.
Exercises, such as weights, exercise bands, and yoga, will not stress you if done with mindfulness. Whatever we choose to do to improve our bodies, doing so in a centred manner will increase your progress and improve your body.
Concentrating on the lift, pull, or pose is important, but so is concentration on the air flowing in and out of your body. Sensing your breathing while exercising can increase results. It’s been proven that meditating on air flow in and out brings healing with the inner breath and expels toxins with the outgoing air.
Some physiotherapists may say, “if it’s physical, it’s therapy”. So, use what you got before you lose what you have.
