I truly think that injuries are the most common frustration of people who make exercise a part of their daily routine. First of all, I don’t know ONE person who hasn’t had an injury - so you can empathize with this post. I’ve certainly had my share of them, and when they show up, I agonize over them. The emotional aspects of injuries are the worst part. But how do we deal with this? Should we rest, and how long? Is our body in fact telling us to stop, or should we be trying to maintain a semblance of routine, especially since it takes so much effort to build it? There are many answers to these questions, and each one depends on the person, the injury and the circumstance. But I think there are some very valuable lessons and wisdom to be learned from injuries. To illustrate my point, I’m going to paint a picture (which might sound familiar)…
It's been just over three years since my back injury (omg, does time fly), and I wrote a first blog regarding my personal struggle with healing about a year and a half ago (You can re-read it here). Reading it reminds me of how incredibly difficult that time was for me. It shines through and I was afraid to be honest because I hated how sad i was. I had very real fears that it would never improve, that I would never again be able to hike, run, surf, let alone lift weights or even do anything physical without pain. I remember having months of feeling no improvement, and having very little hope and belief that things would change. The ups and downs were endless, when I had hope and a good attitude, it would be equally opposed a day or two later with sadness, frustration and depression. I mourned the loss of control I had over my body and fitness. I mourned my perceived future "fit" self. I mourned the loss of years of hard work to get to a place where I finally confidence about my body.
![Working [out] with Injuries](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53879570e4b0422ca6697db1/1553571695886-FW6XG96YCM4Z8954HW7L/Screen+Shot+2019-03-25+at+9.41.17+PM.png)
