Real Self Care

One of the things that happens in my line of work is that I talk to people about what hurts a lot.  It is beyond the scope of my practice to diagnose or treat injury or illness and I always believe that we should consult the appropriate professionals.  I can and do provide information and referrals and suggestions about self-myofascial release, massage, chiropractic services, stretching, supports, and other exercise practices that may help.  For most people, rest, ice, and Ibuprofen are our friends.

 

Sometimes, though, as a human rather than as a professional, I want to suggest looking at the bigger picture.  If what we are feeling in our bodies requires a lot of palliative care all the time, maybe we need to make a bigger shift.  If our stress levels require us to manage them with vigorous cardio and strength training and Pilates and yoga and stretching and meditation and a whole bunch of massage or self-myofascial release, maybe it’s time to think about what life changes might help.  Fitness is not just about what we do with our bodies; it’s about feeling good as a whole person.  Perhaps we wouldn’t need so much stress reduction if we addressed the toxic relationships or found a less soul-killing job or figured out how to reduce the debt load.  Maybe if we took the time to cook real foods for ourselves we wouldn’t have to burn off so many French fries during our workouts.

 

Let me be clear:  I believe deeply in self-care.  I believe most deeply in the kind that makes it so we don’t have to do quite so much of it all the time.  Let’s do the work to make a healthy life.

 

Go play.