Zumba with Melody
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For the love of recovery

11/17/2018

2 Comments

 
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!
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!
Melody is foam rolling and a cat is lying on her back.
Sometimes my cat joins me as I foam roll.
2 Comments
Simi link
10/29/2019 03:51:25 am

Recovery also depends on one's mental condition. Healthy mind is a temple for a strong body.

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Zumba with Melody
11/9/2019 06:56:18 pm

You are SO correct! I have learned a lot this year about mental health. Soon I hope to write a post about my experiences with going on medical leave and being partially hospitalized for mental illness this summer.

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    Melody teaches Zumba classes in Vancouver, Washington; she has been teaching since 2012 and loves spreading the joy of Zumba wherever she goes.

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