Made to Move

In 2011 I broke my clavicle into 3 pieces on the bike.  Before the accident, a typical day would begin with cardio, either on the bike or running, move to teaching one or two pilates/yoga classes, and end with 60 minutes of cardio/strength work.  In a split second, I went from a vital athlete and fitness professional, to an out of work, chair ridden patient with little to no movement.  In fact, any movement was filled with pain.  This pain forced me into three weeks of trying to sleep upright in a chair, six weeks of walking downstairs backwards, and five months of no cardio.  

Collarbones usually heal, right?  However, each checkup verified what I feared most, that my collarbone was not healing.  It was just floating in pieces that would not stick together.  After four months of stagnation, I decided to try riding the bike again and exercising in the pool.  I also tried light jogging on the treadmill.  Things seemed slightly better until I tried to pump a tire.  That's when I really knew something more drastic was necessary to put me back together.

After my husband's obsessive research -- yes, I was  crabby -- I decided to have surgery with the world's leading expert on clavicle pin fixation, Dr. Carl Basamania.  Unfortunately, he was no longer at Duke University -- just a 3 hour drive.  He moved to Seattle!  So, Steve and I flew to his clinic in hopes that Mr. Clavicle himself could get me moving again.  Dr. B. did his magic and connected the bones with a cutting edge new 5 inch pin he helped invent.  While easier than a traditional plate and screw surgery, it was still a painful road ahead with no guarantees -- the pin was scheduled to be in for 6 months!  During the surgery, he found out that my bones were totally separated by muscle and would likely have never healed correctly.

We all get frustrated, and believe me, I was beyond frustrated.  When we cannot workout the way we are accustomed to, and inevitably focus on the fitness we are losing -- and all the toneness, flexibility, and cardio benefits that come along with being fit -- it is natural to dwell on the loss.  But what I learned as I began to recover is that this obstacle, like many others people face, turned out to be a tremendous opportunity for me to slow down, pay attention, and be in the moment.  It reawakened me and helped me to rediscover and learn what my body needed.

Each day boils down to a series of decisions centered on convenience and comfort.  It’s common to develop a schedule that contains the same fitness classes, running trails and bike routes.  With that comes complacency and often mindlessness.  Injuries shuffle the cards and force us react in a different way.  

Instead of coffee and a brisk run, which I wasn’t able to do, I had hot tea and practiced restorative poses.  My range of motion was limited through the shoulders, upper back, and neck.  So, I had to give strong thought to every motion and take my routine in new directions.  I switched from pushups, planks, and chaturangas, to standing balances and seated poses.  These were poses I tended to avoid.  They had to be relearned so I could understand the essence of each, and reap the benefits.  I was really learning firsthand how one body of the part affects the other, and because I had to be present and in the moment, I was doing it with a deeper spirit of joy and delight.  

It's been a year since the accident, and I'm on the eve of returning to Seattle to get the pin removed.  As I look back, I clearly see the major shift it forced in my life.  It even affected the way I teach.  I am committed to make every class more about the essence of the move and providing a more complete moving experience, and less about how many calories burned.  If I have any advice to give students and other instructors based on my experience, it would be to truly learn to work in your body, and know it fully, and to teach the essence of each movement.

So the next time you are thrown off of your exercise routine, look to it as an opportunity to take a new path.  It might not feel pleasant at first, but promise yourself to be open to the new experience.  It will ultimately help you excel in a new direction!

-Treat your body well and your mind will follow.