Three days into a minor physical injury and I am happy I found a way out of it. It is still here and might be for some time but I remembered what I believe in and that is: The moment I know deep down I will be fine the body knows it too and starts the repairs that need to be done. It is so obvious once it comes to mind! I stop creating resistance in the body by letting go of worrying thoughts, the body listens, the automatic nervous system relaxes and repair can start.
My natural response to a physical injury? Annoyance and irritation and fighting the situation in my mind. Best response possible? Acceptance for what happened and seeing the bigger picture = oh, I am learning again and I remember that my body wants to be well. I can trust and relax and I know everything will be fine.
I have come to this conclusion with physical injury/discomfort before. An example from a few years back comes to mind. I had some pain in my heel when getting into certain yoga postures and went to see my acupuncturist. After having a look he said I had plantar fasciitis. I was thinking: “No way” as I would not identify as a person with that condition (my mind was pretty strong at the time). I said it couldn’t be and please could he not use that wording as I did not want a label on the pain I was feeling – it was just a discomfort in my foot that needed to be fixed. The acupuncturist said “Okay, let’s say you have PF instead” but I kept insisting it was just a “thing” and if he could only put a few needles in that would be great.
Of course my acupuncturist was right. I did have plantar fasciitis. But at the time I refused to get that thought into my head. I knew the labelling would only create unnecessary stories about my foot and that would not be helpful for a quick recovery. That is also the reason why I never google that much about symptoms for any physical discomfort I might be having. I find that reading and studying pictures of a physical injury easily makes it more dramatic. The less fear entering my mind, the better the recovery. At least that is how it works for me. By the way I did recover quickly from the foot “thing” 🙂
I might write this in a light way but it is something I find really important. With any situation we have the power to decide what we let into our mind. In order to do so there needs to be enough awareness about the thoughts that are usually there. As I wrote in my previous blog post it is easy to play the victim. I would rather choose to be the creator of my life. In terms of physical discomfort, this translates into deciding what thoughts I let into my mind (and eventually body, as everything is connected) so I don’t allow others’ (kind and well-intentioned) reality or perceptions to become part of mine if they don’t align with me.
That said, I hope you are well! Annette X
