Balancing Act: From Injury to Recovery

Finding balance can be tricky, especially for passionate individuals like myself. When I threw myself into practicing handstands, I was all about building strength and pushing past my comfort zone. However in my search, overtraining and ignoring the signs that my body needed rest has brought me into injury. Before I knew it, I had a cast on my right hand, forcing me to take a much-needed break. With the doctor diagnose, possibility of going through a cirugical procedure and in any case 4 weeks of total immobilization, I found myself desperate seeing how my life was falling apart, especially considering how much I relied on my right hand for everything. I could easily tell it was going to be an uneasy journey for me.

Stopping my practice completely wasn't an option, so I saw this setback as an opportunity to explore alternatives. I focused on maintaining a balanced diet, soaking up vitamin D, and cutting out smoking and alcohol. I continued my yoga practice, shifting the emphasis to pranayama and meditation, and decided to learn something new—I delved into Kriyas and began practicing Nauli daily before breakfast, a cleansing technique believed to rejuvenate the internal organs.

All my practice was done sitted on easy-seated pose, since going beyond that was rather terrifiyng to me that I could do something wrong and made the healing slower. However at a point, encouraged by my personal trainer, I started exploring movement. I started to dance, exploring how was it like to move my arms creating straight lines, without avoiding, rather using the fact that I was wearing a cast as a source of exploration. Ive also explored the freedom in the legs and the possibilities of the torso.

I had to practice patience and self-love toward myself and my body, while also maintaining discipline and focus on my training, knowing it also impacted my mental well-being. I followed all medical advice while slowly incorporating exercises that were manageable with a cast, even if they seemed scary like forearm planks.

By sticking to a healthy diet and committing to daily exercise, my recovery progressed more quickly than expected. The doctor was surprised when they gave me the green light to resume my activities, and I couldn't help but burst into tears of relief. Now, with no visible signs of injury, it's hard to believe there was ever a setback. With support from my therapist and trainers, I gradually let go of the fear and resumed my handstand training.