In 2014, I almost quit lifting kettlebells and practicing yoga.
Despite (insanely) correct technique and posture… massage, chiropractic care, self-tissue work, and rehab exercises I was in so much pain that some days I couldn’t function. My neck, shoulder and arm were constantly on fire, I couldn’t turn my head without pain and workouts cost me several days of recovery. Yoga frequently landed me in a back spasm so bad that even walking was off the table.
I love my sports. I love the adrenaline and the feeling of success and the sweat that come with kettlebells. The deep calm of long stretches and breathing — but I was sobbing on the phone with my coach just before a kettlebell certification because I had gone into such a bad spasm that I couldn’t lift my arm. I was regularly in the back row of yoga classes, just trying to make it through cat-cow.
I’d already quit running because it was so painful and awful and, despite the 5 years of work and thousands of dollars in professional care I’d invested into kettlebells and yoga, I was ready to give them up because it just wasn’t worth it anymore.
I hear similar stories every day. People who quit running, who can’t pick up their kids or ride their bike or sit at their desk for long hours without feeling like absolute garbage at the end of it all. Other people tell me about the ice baths and hours of painful foam rolling and deep tissue massages that leave them bruised.
Some of them don’t mind… it’s worth it!
Others are at the end of their rope
To be continued …. but in the Spring of 2015, a few amazing humans showed me that there’s another way. They showed me ways to talk to my body and my nervous system so I could figure out what the hell was going on BEFORE I hit a flare or an injury. Those humans and that process changed my life and my career forever, and a large part of my life is now telling YOU and other people : it doesn’t have to feel like that!
I’m really excited to start sharing my story and journey and toolbox on a larger scale with Madison, Wisconsin and the humans around the country that I’m lucky enough to know.
If you’re tired of rolling your ankles, feeling exhausted when you run…tired of your knees and low back hurting whenever you play with your kids… COME HANG OUT WITH ME. If you know someone who’s struggling with the same: send them too.
It’s starting next week, Tuesday night, at 6 pm.
I’ll be in-person at the studio, and we’ll live-stream the workshop as well if you can’t be in downtown Madison on a Tuesday night — everyone who signs up will get the link and materials so you get access from anywhere.
I lift kettlebells when and where I want to these days. I practice yoga how and when I feel like it. I carry heavy things and garden and play and walk and run. When my body talks, I get to listen. You can have all that (or whatever strikes your fancy) too.