Yesterday morning I woke up and everything hurt. And by everything, I mean every single muscle and joint in my entire body. Okay, maybe there were a few facial muscles that did not ache. But I'm not kidding, I was in some serious pain.
Why? Well, the day before I began my summer session of both bootcamp and Zumba. Perhaps when I was in my 20's and 30's I could have worked out hard twice per day and not even blinked an eye. But now that I am rapidly approaching the big 50, let's just say my body likes to talk to me about such abuse. Loudly.
Lately I have been struggling to find a different way of caring for my body, in between workouts, that will leave my muscles feeling more flexible and less like brittle bands of aging latex. I have been suffering with one knotted hamstring, a super tight middle back, a recently healed pulled psoas, and the list could go on. Something has to change around here, because I am afraid a serious injury will put me out of commission, and thus out of a job, if I don't fix this issue.
I hobbled down the stairs for my morning coffee. And there I found my husband, Mr. Balancing Act, reading a book that I brought home from the library. He is a speed-reader and often reads my books before I ever get around to them. The book is The Permanent Pain Cure by Ming Chew, PT.
Well, my hubby told me one of the tidbits he has already gleaned from my book is to measure the amount of water you drink each day. Now, this is not shocking or revolutionary advice. But for once, I decided to listen to it. I carefully jotted down in my planner exactly how many milliliters I consumed over the course of the day. And it seems that there is a magic number, because when I hit 1250 milliliters (about a quart and a half) my pain completely vanished!
You probably think I am making this up. Maybe you think I am over-exaggerating? Honest to goodness, I went from all my muscles feeling locked up tighter than Fort Knox to completely pain-free for the rest of the day. With just water. It is the simplest, most obvious, yet most overlooked cure for pain, especially in the muscles and joints. If you want more discussion of why being well-hydrated helps you feel so much better, you'd probably enjoy reading this book.
Once your body is well-hydrated and you have cut out all the foods that cause inflammation (more on this another day!) within the body, you are ready to start stretching and releasing the fascia, which is the connective tissue that surrounds all our muscles and joints. Ming Chew offers a series of easy stretches that are designed to lengthen your spine, create space in the joints, and allow fluids to circulate through the muscles and joints, thus bringing healing to areas that are normally too tight, held, and restricted. A fuller range of motion and freedom from pain is the outcome.
If you push yourself hard physically, that is awesome. But keep in mind that the body also needs lots of water, a clean diet, rest, and plenty of stretching to compensate for all that contracting! Please take great care of your precious body so it will last for many decades to come!
Why? Well, the day before I began my summer session of both bootcamp and Zumba. Perhaps when I was in my 20's and 30's I could have worked out hard twice per day and not even blinked an eye. But now that I am rapidly approaching the big 50, let's just say my body likes to talk to me about such abuse. Loudly.
Lately I have been struggling to find a different way of caring for my body, in between workouts, that will leave my muscles feeling more flexible and less like brittle bands of aging latex. I have been suffering with one knotted hamstring, a super tight middle back, a recently healed pulled psoas, and the list could go on. Something has to change around here, because I am afraid a serious injury will put me out of commission, and thus out of a job, if I don't fix this issue.
I hobbled down the stairs for my morning coffee. And there I found my husband, Mr. Balancing Act, reading a book that I brought home from the library. He is a speed-reader and often reads my books before I ever get around to them. The book is The Permanent Pain Cure by Ming Chew, PT.
Well, my hubby told me one of the tidbits he has already gleaned from my book is to measure the amount of water you drink each day. Now, this is not shocking or revolutionary advice. But for once, I decided to listen to it. I carefully jotted down in my planner exactly how many milliliters I consumed over the course of the day. And it seems that there is a magic number, because when I hit 1250 milliliters (about a quart and a half) my pain completely vanished!
You probably think I am making this up. Maybe you think I am over-exaggerating? Honest to goodness, I went from all my muscles feeling locked up tighter than Fort Knox to completely pain-free for the rest of the day. With just water. It is the simplest, most obvious, yet most overlooked cure for pain, especially in the muscles and joints. If you want more discussion of why being well-hydrated helps you feel so much better, you'd probably enjoy reading this book.
Once your body is well-hydrated and you have cut out all the foods that cause inflammation (more on this another day!) within the body, you are ready to start stretching and releasing the fascia, which is the connective tissue that surrounds all our muscles and joints. Ming Chew offers a series of easy stretches that are designed to lengthen your spine, create space in the joints, and allow fluids to circulate through the muscles and joints, thus bringing healing to areas that are normally too tight, held, and restricted. A fuller range of motion and freedom from pain is the outcome.
If you push yourself hard physically, that is awesome. But keep in mind that the body also needs lots of water, a clean diet, rest, and plenty of stretching to compensate for all that contracting! Please take great care of your precious body so it will last for many decades to come!
Comments
Post a Comment
Please share your helpful questions and comments here! Thanks for being part of this balanced community!