I PLANNED ON HEALING

I am calling my newest snowboard trick “double back-flip to face plant”.  Sounds a little like something that Shaun White would do in the Olympic Men’s Half-Pipe competition, however probably without the “face plant” part of it.  Actually it is not a trick at all…and don’t worry, all along I planned on healing.

It was the second run of the day at Georgian Peaks, a private ski club in Northern Ontario.  I drove over and met a friend there and we hit the slopes for the weekend.  It has been a while since I have actually snowboarded with skiers, I usually snowboard with other snowboarders, and we definitely attack the slopes a little differently.

I have said over the years that snowboarding is meditative for me, and is one of the reasons I love it so much.  You have to be 100% present-time consciousness otherwise you will find yourself in trouble in a hurry.  This time maybe, just maybe I was a little bit distracted.  Maybe.

I was cruising along to keep up with the two-planker, and I caught my back edge on some ice.  I am not exactly sure what happened from there.  I know I hit my head twice (thank goodness for helmets, do yourself a favor and do not go out there without one) so I am convinced I flipped twice.  I also know how I landed, so the face plant definitely happened.  No one was there to witness it but I am positive 5’10” red jacket and loud plaid pants flipping down the hill was quite a show.

When I gathered my thoughts and got back up on my feet, I became acutely aware that I had jarred my right ankle and knee.  I am not sure what movie this line comes from, but my mind went right to “That’s gonna leave a mark.”

When injuries occur, I go into a mode that I like to call “let me just pretend that didn’t happen”.  “Where thoughts go, energy flows and manifests in physical form.”  Over the years it has served me to distract my mind from what just happened, and it usually leads to quick healing.

I snowboarded the rest of the day and met up with some of my friend’s friends at the lodge afterwards.

I noticed that my ankle was a little bit uncomfortable when we were sitting and chatting with friends.  After a half hour went by, it became impossible to ignore.  Another half hour and the pain is nearing a 7 out of 10.  By the end of 2 hours of chit chat, I was in so much pain, I was nauseous.  Even through all that, in my mind I was still planning on healing.  

Our original plans to head out for dinner and drinks changed in a hurry as my body required that I succumb to RICE mode: Rest, Ice, Elevation, Compression.  The friend I was traveling with is a Naturopathic Doctor and we were able to add some homeopathic remedies and do some manipulation of the ankle joint to add to the RICE efforts.

After a few hours, it became apparent that I was probably not going to be able to walk the next day, much less spend any time on my snowboard.  As the evening progressed, it was increasingly difficult to ignore what was happening with my body, however I still planned on healing and the RICE efforts continued well into the night.

The real test came the following morning, when I took my first step on to the floor from the bed.

I have to admit, I was groggy, needed to use the restroom and my mind wasn’t focused on our evening spent in RICE mode when I took my first steps.

Half way to the restroom, it dawned on me that I was not only able to walk normally on that foot, it also felt 90% better.  Good thing I planned on healing all along.

The next question was “do I dare snowboard today or just spend my time resting?”

If you know me at all, you know the answer to that one is always, “Let me just give it a try and see what happens.”  And so I did.  But remember, my mindset was always that I planned on healing.

Turns out I was able to comfortably ride harder that day than I did the day before.  It felt good to be out there in my happy place strapped to my board.  I also know when one experiences joy and happiness, healing energy is turned up a notch as well.

I was happy.  I planned on healing all along and my body did exactly that.

We were both astonished at the fact that I felt as good as I did the very next day.  We both witness incredible healing on a regular basis in our different professions, however we were still amazed by how quickly this process happened for me.

When situations like this come up in my life, it just leads to the building of a stronger and stronger faith in the body’s innate recuperative powers and it’s incredible ability to heal.  We, as a society, have not given it enough credit for what it can do.

It is important to listen to the body’s warning signals and stop when it says stop.  We also need to be living a healthy lifestyle so the body has the building blocks it needs to heal, grow and repair.  But one of the most important factors is plan on healing.

In retrospect, I know that my mindset of “I planned on healing” took my healing energy up a level.  I am not at all recommending that you test the limits of your body, but when you do happen to get injured…do yourself a favor and plan on healing.  I guarantee you will be astonished at how quickly your body follows those orders.