Among other things, turning 30 has had a very profound effect on the way I see my body. If any of you know me well, you know that one of my many psychoses includes running. Unfortunately, running has not exactly loved me back. After ten years of pounding pavement (did you know that each foot strike when running exposes your legs to an impact force of 3-6 times your body weight) my body is starting to rebel and has finally declared, "STOP I need a break!!" Amazingly, it took a huge herniated disk resulting in physical therapy to finally get me to wake up and realize that the most important thing I can do for my physical well being is to slow down and actually listen to what my body is telling me.
I think it is very common for the lot of us to think we are indestructible, especially when we are in our teens and twenties. We put our bodies through grueling tasks, always pushing the limits, never really feeling the impact it has on our physical well being. Then something happens, and one morning you wake up, and you're 30, and you realize that that 20 year old body is a thing of the past. This is not to say that at 30 we are old and decrepit, and ready for the old age home. No, it's more that it's an awakening. It's more that at 30 you realize that the body is not made of kryptonite, more that it is like a fine piece of china, and it needs to be handled with care.
I will say this, at 30 I love my body more than I ever did at 15 or 18 or 25. At 30, I want to take care of my body, and nurture it so that I am able to do all the things I am driven to do for as long as possible. In some ways, this injury has truly been a blessing, because it has allowed me to slow down and take care of myself. As a runner, and I know I have many friends who are runners and understand completely where I'm coming from, you tend to just push through no matter how badly you are hurting. It's all about increasing the speed of your mile or reaching that PR. But you know, and it's been very hard for me to accept this, there comes a point when that mentality does more harm than good.
Simply put, we need to listen to our bodies. If we are hurting or something just doesn't feel right, then our body is telling us, "whoa, you are pushing me way too hard, and I'm about to break." Grace Mirabella wrote, "The name of the game is taking care of yourself, because you're going to live long enough to wish you had.” Stopping when something hurts is also part of taking care of yourself. Believe me, my goal is to be back out on the pavement as soon as my sports medicine doc waves the green flag. In the mean time, I'm going to love myself and be kind to my body, and do what it is asking of me right now. You see, the body and the spirit need to flow and work together in perfect symbiosis. They are in constant communication, and are always telling the other what the other needs. Without this perfect relationship, the human form just doesn't work. Buddhism teaches that it is our duty to keep the body in good health, otherwise we are not able to keep our mind strong and clear. I will honor my spirit and I will honor my body so that eventually things will heal, and my spirit and my body in mutual harmony, will allow me to tie my running shoes and head out the door.
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