Oh No — More Awareness

In my last blog, (link ) I described how I became aware of a new discomfort in my inner left thigh while getting into my car, and how that discomfort motivated me to wake up and pay attention.

I can report that paying attention worked.

First, I decided to slow down in general, so I wasn’t on automatic pilot. Then I added visualization. When I was going to sleep or if I was awake in the night I began to see myself backing into my car, instead of stepping in sideways.

Beth Greenfield, my assistant in Friday’s noon Heal Your Back class, suggested I think of a big STOP sign on my car door. That helped too. Seeing a stop sign on my car helped me to remember to open the door, turn around, hinge at my hips, and sit before either foot was off the ground.

The result: it’s far from automatic but probably 90 % of the time I sit butt first. And the pain has gone away when I remember. I can still feel it when I forget.

What makes me so motivated to change my habit?

I don’t like the feeling of stress on the adductor tendon on my inner left thigh. More than that, I know it’s easier to prevent an injury than to fix one.

And if I don’t remove the pain now, it could become a lifetime problem. Massage and physical therapy might fix it temporarily, but if I continue making the move that injures it, it will always come back.

Here’s the news. Now I’m noticing that often when I go to sit on chairs in front of my desk, or at the kitchen table, I feel the same unpleasant sensations in my left inner thigh. Ugh!

My reaction at first was, “no, it can’t be.” My second reaction was, “oh great, this is another opportunity to become aware.”

I wish.

My true reaction isn’t quite so virtuous. It’s more along the lines of: “oh brother, another thing to become aware of.”

What I’ve learned is that instead of pulling my chair away from the table, and squaring up with the table, I do the same thing I do when getting in the car. I put one foot in front of the chair and lower myself sideways. This move irritates my inner left thigh.

So another cycle of awareness has to begin.

How does this apply to you? Ask yourself: What hurts? When does it hurt? What were you doing when you noticed that something hurts?

Your sensations are your wake-up call to notice what you are doing when you feel stress, or discomfort.

Many of you who have taken Balance classes know the basic guidelines. You can use these guidelines to help you prevent wear and tear. If you can’t figure it out or don’t know how to correct the movement, you just need to know more. Get into a class and tell the teacher what hurts and when. You can be guided into safe movement.

With information and awareness, you can heal and prevent injuries, pain, and discomforts.

You don’t have to suffer. The guidelines as created by Noelle Perez give you the know-how you need to cure and prevent injuries.