Taking Responsibility

So yesterday I took a lot of naps, and this morning, I woke up with my back feeling fine for the first time in a week. Yeah, last Saturday something went wrong, and I woke up feeling like someone had sprayed some demonic combination of Freon and Tabasco into my joints. Everything was stiff, and any movement outside a very narrow range HURT.

I know a lot of people who would just say: “oh well, goes with surviving this long. It’s natural at my age.”

My attitude was “I did something that caused this, so I can do things that fix it.”

THAT was the first step: TAKING RESPONSIBILITY. Without it, you are lost.

Then I had to use the M.A.G.I.C. formula:

I needed a MODEL of what proper back/joint function is, and a MAP of how to get back to it. Tai Chi and Yoga supplied these. Just do them at the level my body allowed, without pushing into “too much” discomfort. NEVER force it.

Needed to take daily ACTIONS. Joint mobility and selected stretches (“Pigeon” pose was great!). I would do these every three hours, during my “Five Minute Miracle.”

You need GRATITUDE, which fights fear and anger. I’m grateful for a body that works as well as it does, and grateful to have faith it will repair itself.

A clear INTENTION: health, joy and power expressed through my body. I know how I want to feel, perform, and appear. Clarifying that intent, being able to SEE where I’m going, is like finding “True North” on a compass…