Hiking in a New Body

Today was an incredible day! I went on a hike I've done many, many times before, but something about it was completely different.

I've been undergoing a series of treatments with my physical therapist called "Structural Integration" based on the work of Tom Meyer. It is deep work on the myofascial structures of the body - one region at a time.

This past Friday, I had major work done on my low back and hip areas. All I can say is that it felt like the furniture was rearranged in that part of my body in a major way! That night, after my treatment, I couldn't really sleep. It literally felt like things were rearranging in there! Some of the muscles along the right side of my low back were so tight and as they were released I felt immense relief. I did a forward bend that was effortless, for the first time in literally years. Heaven. Amazing!

Today, when I was hiking, I remembered the words of my physical therapist. She told me that it was fine for me to do all the physical activities that I normally do, but that I should seek to do them with more awareness, and in the 'new' form that I've been learning. It involves activating the muscles in my core, and using them properly.

As I was hiking today, it felt completely different. My low back felt strong, stable and balanced. It somehow seemed easier than ever before. Everything seemed to move as though it were well lubricated and perfectly aligned. Wow!

This has not been a trivial process - to get my body in alignment. My body has been getting out of alignment for a long, long, long time. It doesn't come back into alignment over night.

I've dedicated a lot of time to getting my physical therapy (and chiropractic treatment before that.) Although I've had improvement and relief along the way, I'm now beginning to see major positive changes. It's taken over 2 years of treatments, exercise and working to retrain my body in how to move and perform it's tasks.

We can't expect instant results in many of our endeavors. It just isn't realistic. It takes faith and perseverance to keep going on a path - even when things aren't changing on the outside. There were many times when I felt frustrated with the amount of time I was spending driving to my appointments, and having treatments. Sure, they always felt good, but I wondered if it was really worth the time and trouble.

IT WAS! IT IS! ALWAYS!

If you are frustrated with the pace of change in some area of your life where you are putting forth effort and energy... hang in there! Your reward will come!!!