Stop Mucking Around
I have a farm injury…
Living on a small, albeit expanding, farm involves a lot of routine chores. Repetitive motion. Awkward movements. Lots of gripping. Twisting and bending.
Well, during a break in this crazy rain pattern in the Berkshires, I overzealously mucked the horse paddock, shoveled horse and goat stalls, wheelbarrowed loads of poop to compost, and swept and scrubbed the entire barn and chicken coop.
I should have known when the blister on my right hand started forming that I wasn't doing something correctly. Taurus. I forged on.
The next day, my right forearm--specifically at my elbow--felt tender and sore. Time to ice and rest it? Yes. But, Mom with 3 kids, 28 animals, a garden, yoga classes, and private clients. How does one rest their dominant arm with all that going on?
Consequently, despite being a yoga therapist who teaches and preaches good posture, proper movement, and biomechanics, I nonetheless have an overuse injury. What? Do the laws of ergonomics also apply to me?
No problem. I did my hand stretches and upped my turmeric intake, thinking that that would take care of it. (See my Yoga Therapy Pearls on YouTube or Kari & Co.)
But, it kept nagging at me.
Two days ago, when I dropped a pot I had picked up because of shooting pain, my honey bought me a wrist stabilizer and a tennis elbow brace. The brace both serves to hold my wrist in a neutral position and constantly reminds me to use my other arm.
However, the significant measure was to step back and do a root-cause analysis. No horse pucky, it turns out that mucking, sweeping, and animal bedding replacement are listed as "high-risk farm operations," resulting in common farm injuries. Seriously?
Yes. Of course. "Awkward working postures involving twisting, bending, stooping, arms in an elevated position, wrists in extreme joint positions, and handling of heavy loads." You may know this snow shoveling. There are literally numerous studies on Pub Med.
Additionally, when I get really still in meditation, I can clearly see that the injury is my body's way of telling me, forcing me, to slow down and take a break.
Candidly, this experience is simultaneously humbling and brilliant. It is magical.
When we don't listen to the whispers and feedback that our body and our higher conscious offers, the body will, eventually, find a way to make us listen. Then it becomes our job to rethink and look at remedies and at root causes.
And sometimes, we need to just take a break.
Seems like my upcoming vacation is coming not a minute too soon.
What are your habitual patterns of movement-- on or off the mat--that may be the source of imbalance or pain?
Join me this week to connect the dots of strength, structure, and stability in our practice and in our daily movement.