For the love of recovery

The thing about frequent exercise isn't that it makes your body break down faster (quite the opposite!); it's that it makes your body's aches and pains much more noticeable on a much more regular basis. Rather than just the gradual onset of groan-worthy joint-creakiness that has you wondering when you suddenly got old, it's a recurring shout in your ear: I'M SORE!

Sometimes my cat joins me as I foam roll.

Here's a not-so-secret secret: The brief period of stretching at the end of a weights or aerobics class is not sufficient to keep you at the top of your game. If anything, it should be treated as inspirational, like when a parent eats a bite of baby food to entice the young one. See? This is how you stretch. Isn't it nice? Don't you want to do more?

I'm constantly trying to work at getting more recovery time into my daily life. My greatest success has been my soothing Sunday evening routine:

1. Attend a restorative yoga class (i.e., an hour of long stretches and trying not to take a nap in a warm room)
2. Take a candlelit bath
3. Listen to a relaxing, happy podcast
4. Stretch and foam roll
5. Sleep

That sounds so cliché and so darn luxurious, but it really sets me up for success. I know not everyone can afford the time or expense or solitude of some of those list items, but this is my plea to you to work at scheduling stints of recovery time into your week. Stretching at your desk, taking a short walk, putting in earplugs for an hour, maybe budgeting for a massage: All of these things can make a huge difference in your mindset and (so important!) in staving off injury.

Food for thought!

---