The Daily Check-In

Our first impulse, when we’ve incurred an injury, is to say "I need to FIX this NOW!"

Take someone’s rotator cuff tear, or a lingering hip issue or someone else’s tibial plateau fracture...we have lots of examples to choose from within our little studio! These are such painful puddles of woe!  Move this way, ouch, it hurts.  Move that way, hmm, not so much.  We quickly begin to build a little reference library of what intensifies the pain and what eases it. This is obviously not a bad thing, particularly at the acute phase, but before long we are not really “fixing” the issue so much as avoiding/accommodating the injury.  This tends to create a system of adding suffering on top of suffering by throwing our posture and gait off balance and leaving us wide open for more accidents and injuries.

 When we hurt ourselves we have to cool our heels.  We have to quiet our system and gather our resources.  We have to listen in on the workings of our body and mind and try to remember the things we already know to do to feel better. 

Remember the concept of proper posture?  This is a great place to start. Even if you can’t stand up on both feet, you can manifest it in some fashion in whatever position you can manage.

I call this the “Check In.”  I do it first thing in the morning, and throughout the day as needed.  When we’re a bit wounded, as several of us are right now, we have to be patient with ourselves. Don’t go straight to the idea of “fixing” the injury.  Instead, stand up properly, as best you can. See where you fall into place and where you don’t.  It may be that your left shoulder hurts because your right knee is locked so your glutes aren’t firing!  It doesn’t matter if you can’t actually discern that level of subtlety, you can still begin to right your ship by doing the Check In.  It allows all your body parts to chip in to the best of their ability to support the original POW (puddle of woe) and help to heal you faster!

1.     Feet about hip width apart

2.    Knees a little soft

3.    Behind behind you!

4.    Abs actively supporting your big ol’ self

5.     Shoulder blades above your booty and a little gathered toward one another

6.    Sternum lifted (to let the sun shine on it)

7.    Head on the top of your spine, right between your shoulders

8.    Breathe, then, like a dragon, breathe!

Feels the tiniest bit better right away, huh? Amazing!