To aid recovery or reclaim your movement, start with the mind
I posted on social media a few weeks ago about getting annoyed when I see posts that say, ‘doing this one thing will fix your X pain’. I find this so reductionist and aside from the complexity of the way all our body parts have to move together to create efficient movement, I feel there's an even bigger issue regarding how these messages are received.
There are so many false promises out there! I shy away from making specific claims or saying ‘doing X, will fix Y’, because without seeing a person, knowing their individual history or understanding their current life and struggles, how can that claim possibly become a reality, unless it’s through sheer luck?
When messaging preys on people's vulnerability, pain and sometimes desperation, it can give false hope, potentially leading to worse problems further down the road. I believe that recovery and progression in anyone’s movement journey is just as much about what’s happening in their minds as their bodies and it would be foolish not to think about this incredibly important part of moving.
When I realised it was my mind that was holding me back in my recovery
I’ll never forget, a few months after my injury and moving with a lot of pain, I finally got an appointment with someone whose diagnosis and approach was the first to really resonate with me. They were really expensive, but I felt I had no choice, as sadly nothing was being offered to me for free! I remember saying, “So, how long do you think it’ll be until I'm better again…about three months?” His response was to smile kindly and say that he couldn’t answer that question and that anyone who did was not being honest with me, because every situation was unique. At the time I felt like I was being fobbed off.
After a year or so of working with him I decided to stop going, feeling frustrated by the lack of progress. I was still harbouring anger that I couldn’t run anymore, when everyone around me seemed to be running with ease. Obviously they weren’t, but that’s just how your lens on the world adjusts when you unknowingly look for evidence to validate your own viewpoint (‘confirmation bias’ I believe!). I now realise, I was actually blaming him for why I wasn’t recovering quickly enough.
After a year without him, and finding no-one else who had his holistic approach, I finally understood what he meant when he said that only I could heal myself. The negative feelings I was carrying were creating a barrier to my recovery that was affecting my mind and my body. So I went back to him and we started to discuss the importance of surrendering the emotions I was experiencing and looking behind what was creating them.
I came to understand that therapists and coaches are catalysts for change, rather than the specific instrument of change. When I finally understood this, I was able to grasp the nettle and put in the necessary effort and consistency required to achieve progress. This not only consisted of the physical rehabilitation work, but also learning to accept the situation I was in, work through the frustration I was holding onto about my body and be kinder to myself. The latter was by far the hardest part to achieve and I’m still working on it!
This switch in mindset was the missing ingredient to help me start to create change. Clearly mindset change alone is not a guarantee of success, but it’s a hugely important part of physical recovery or making change that often gets less coverage.
What makes us all different is what makes us who we are; our ‘onion skin layers’!
We all start with very different and unique anatomical make ups, and I doubt anyone would argue with that, as it’s so visible. It wasn’t until I was working my way out of chronic pain (read more in a previous blog here) that I really looked at some of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that made me, me! A few examples; I found out my left humerus (upper arm bone) is longer than my right! This has an impact on my shoulder when I’m weight-bearing through my arms on the ground as the left side is slightly higher than the right, which explains the shoulder issues I can experience and is something I have to always take into consideration.
Accidents and surgeries of course also affect how we move. I fell off a pony when I was a teenager and damaged my coccyx and badly tore my glute muscle (but wasn’t given treatment). In addition, the birth of my first child was, let’s say ‘interesting’ (as it seems to be for so many!), but we won’t go into that or I’ll really put you off!
Development also creates patterns; I was a bum shuffler as a baby and never crawled, which I’m now told is a necessary developmental stage that I skipped and I often wonder how it has affected me (however I’m making up for it now!).
The main thing I found out when trying to understand why I was in pain, is that I have hypermobility (read more in a previous blog here) in some of my joints. Like my longer arm, this isn’t something I can change, but it gives me information that I can work with to try to avoid future injury and getting back into pain. It means I have to be very honest with myself about which types of movement serve me, and which don’t. My stability varies with my monthly cycle, so I’ve chosen not to run any distance until after the menopause, and potentially never again depending on how my body fares post menopause.
‘Giving up’ my obsession of running was the most difficult decision I had to make, but once I had surrendered the frustration I held and finally met my body exactly where it was, my recovery started to progress.
That being said, I can run short distances if needed and thankfully know that I won’t suffer the horrendous flare ups I had in my early 40s. I’m immensely grateful now that I choose not to run because I can’t, but instead because I choose not to. This is testament to the seemingly endless rehabilitation work I had to do whilst recovering, and since getting pain-free, my ongoing focus on my strength and mobility, both throughout my day and in the ways I exercise, as a result (thankfully) of finding and practising natural movement.
Each of these facts all add up to make me who I am today and affect how I use my body, how I see movement in my life and my own physical capability and no one exercise could ever have ‘fixed’ that!
Whether you choose self-guided learning and practise or extra support?
When we’re looking for help and guidance, it’s important to be really honest with ourselves about our own unique situation. If we go ahead and do the work ourselves we need to do so by auditing our mindset and movement patterns first to be sure we’re focussing on the areas that will benefit us most.
If we decide to get help, we need to choose those who will support us to work at our own level, both encouraging and inspiring us, but who also talk to us about how we feel about moving and what barriers we may be struggling with. If we find someone who we feel is by our side in this way, they are likely to be the catalysts we can learn from and be challenged by. These gems empower us to ‘own’ our own journeys, as, at the end of the day, only we can truly make the changes needed to see the progress we want.
A side note here about following people online and getting help
This may sound strange, given you’ve most likely found me online, but if you’ve got an issue that’s not improving with movements from people you follow, or you’re in acute pain or getting warning signals from your body that you may have been living with for a while, please, please go and get help from a physical therapist or a doctor/physician whom you feel understands your whole story. Looking back, I didn’t take my own warning signs seriously enough, and the resulting cost in pain and time just might have been avoided.
How to work towards moving the way you’d like to by first re-setting your thinking
My personal experience of pain and recovery, as well as the experiences of many of the people I’ve connected with online or worked with to help reclaim their movements, have all shown me that a big part of making improvements in the way we move is affected by our mindset around our own movement capability, how we view movement in our lives and the movement of others around us.
Here are a few things to get you thinking about your own movement mindset!
Comparison is the thief of joy
Comparison doesn’t necessarily have to be to the more obvious examples of comparing to those you see on the Internet of the same age, older or younger performing seemingly incredible movement skills. It can also be damaging when we compare ourselves to friends or loved ones who are completely different to us. Remembering we all have very different bodies and movement life stories is the key to stop this kind of self-sabotage. Also, remembering that you have no idea about someone else’s ‘behind the scenes’; what they’ve experienced and how (long) they got there, is also important.
The final type of comparison can sometimes be the most problematic; comparing to your younger self or comparing to a future idea of yourself that may not be realistic. Whilst I think it can be really powerful to set future goals, especially if that’s something that helps drive and motivate you, it’s really important to do so with compassion and honesty. Being realistic with the level of practice and consistency you can really commit to will mean setting goals that are achievable.
You don’t need to feel the burn to be getting benefit from movement
To be beneficial, movement/exercise doesn’t need to be exhausting or painful. Just because your heart rate isn’t racing through the roof and you’re not sweating profusely, it doesn’t mean the way you’re moving has no benefit. In fact it’s the opposite and I regularly talk about the fact that ‘all movement counts’. Moving regularly, in a variety of ways, and at all different levels of intensity serves us as we age. Having something in your regular exercise repertoire that gets the heart pumping and the body sweating is obviously a good idea, especially if it’s something you love doing. It shows you’re adding a specific type of challenge to your system that is hugely beneficial for it to adapt and grow, but for long-term movement goals of mobility, strength, stability and balance, the way we move all day is just as important as how much we ‘exercise’.
What brings you joy/fun?
When we see moving or exercising as something that has to just be done, and we’re perhaps even looking at the clock hoping for the time to pass, it’s a sure sign we’re less likely to continue doing that type of movement in the long run or that we’re getting as much benefit as something we can really get into!
Finding a type of movement you really enjoy makes it far easier to motivate yourself to keep doing it. Sharing the experience with others gives the added benefits of accountability, community and support. Whatever your age, it’s important to keep trying new things, especially things you might have not previously considered. It might even take you in a direction in your life you could never have foreseen!
Developing a ‘movement-rich life’ mindset
When I was studying natural movement and practising the different movement patterns and skills, part of the reason this framework of moving really caught me was the realisation of how much could be used practically in daily life. It showed me the gaps in my movement repertoire and made me realise the ways I needed to move in daily life that I’d been missing.
To certify, I had to pass a certain level of a variety of specific movement tests. This meant I couldn’t focus on the things I was good at and shy away from those I was not. I had to accomplish a level of general movement ability across the specific tests as well as my general level of movement capability. It made me realise how much I’d been doing exactly that for decades; choosing exercise modalities or methods I was better at and ignoring those I found harder. It also made me realise I’d been ignoring how I moved in daily life, convincing myself that the effects of long hours sitting were cancelled out by short intense bouts of gym work. In my 20s I probably did get away with it, but after that, with the added challenge of carrying and rearing children in my 30s, my body decided to give me a wake up call at 40!
I’ve seen time and time again with clients, friends and relatives that unless we embrace a movement rich life, and become honest with ourselves about the ways we move all day, and the choices we make about moving in our modern environment (read more in a previous blog here), it’s more likely to come back to bite us!
Meet yourself ‘where you’re you at’ today
With all this in mind, it’s important to work with the current tools we have, to be curious and confident about what our bodies might be able to do, and honest about our movement gaps so we can make improvements with often small, but consistent changes in our lifestyle. Looking for things that bring us joy, joining with others to try them and being playful and having fun all add up to living a better life.
Setting goals/intentions
If you feel this has struck a chord and made you think slightly differently about the place movement has in your life, why not set some goals, or if that feels too much to get started, set some intentions, with honesty, kindness, and self compassion.
Think about your general movement repertoire, and where you can fill gaps that will make you feel better, empower you to do more and give you the confidence in your movement to try new things.
Let’s be kind to ourselves and others and support each other to move more and move better to move well for life!
If you want to audit your natural movement patterns with me and others, to find your personal movements gaps and how to start filling them…
All the course details are available by clicking here
I’d love you to join me.
