This is an unexpected post!
Until four weeks ago I had never experienced knee pain or fragility in those joints.
Durham Cathedral,
the city of my childhood.
As a massage therapist I’ve always had huge respect for these amazing structures and their complexity has occasionally left me feeling somewhat lacking.
I ended up in so much pain that I sat all one Sunday afternoon in my local A&E and was eventually told I’d damaged the meniscus in my right knee, which I did believe but didn’t understand as I had no recollection of how that occurred. So be it….now I needed to enable some healing to take place. The practitioner nurse felt it would take at least 6-8 weeks! Teaching 5 yoga classes and doing 7 massages a week, I rather needed my knee back to good working order and quickly. Besides which the longer it took the weaker the supporting muscles would become.
First stop…..ice, elevation and anti-inflammatories.
Next, a trip to see my friend Nick Roche of Hale Natural Health Clinic so that he could give me a Cold Laser Treatment. An hour on and already my knee felt easier.
Then, over to me and lots of really healthy juicing and raw food plus good protein intake followed by specific yoga postures.
The yoga sometimes felt more like rolling about on the ground doing very little but over a few days I sort of grew into what felt right. That involved a lot of visualisations where there was loads of space in between the joint, which I know is not actually true but felt beneficial. Then using the breath to move energy and awareness into the entire leg helped me to focus on the healing that was possible.
My next post will show you some of the postures I used when the injury was acute and of course a knee injury in no way stops you from doing Forrest abdominal work….so my knee may have been fragile but my goodness my core strength has never been better!!
Conwy, North Wales.
Two more treatments with Nick, a careful return to walking and four weeks on I am back to a normal yoga practice. An interesting awareness of the work of my feet was vital to my recovery..getting the feet active and really opening the ball and heel to the earth stimulated the leg muscles and immediately lifted me and took the pressure of the joints. I’ve always been aware of feet but, until you feel pain in a joint you don’t really get the full import of what you’re doing.
The body-mind connection is so fascinating to me. Knees represent our ability to be flexible, to bend, to give and to be spontaneous. Problems with knees can be about accepting a situation and simply surrendering to whatever occurs…..does that apply to me? Oh yes I’d say so most definitely. Trusting my feelings, my intuition and believing in me are all tricky, sticky bits.
When you are unwell, whatever ails you, be it a head cold, broken limb or something far more serious you have a sense of despair, frustration, anxiety and disempowerment. An injury to a joint is hugely traumatic as so much is caught up in these amazing structures. House-bound for about 2 weeks left me feeling stir-crazy and I realised how important fresh air and being outside are to me.
Looking at things of beauty at any time is really important but when ill it becomes vital. Hence the photos scattered through this piece.
Udaipur, Rajasthan
The laser treatment I received heals the following; muscle injuries, nerve damage, skin ulcers and other skin problems. Nick also does other wonderful things so take a look at his website; wwwhalenaturalhealthclinic Or call Nick on; 07989 193 776
Beautiful tulips.
They reminded us of spring even though it was so cold.