I am always amazed at how little attention we pay to our bodies.
It seems our bodies talk to us in subtle ways yet most of us are not listening.
Case in point…I met a 40 something lady in the gym awhile back and noticed how hard she went on the elliptical. She was on the elliptical for over 90 minutes and she varied her speeds from easy to the highest intensity. When she got off I commented on how hard she had worked out. I was surprised by her answer.
It turns out that her right hip was giving her a lot of pain and that it was getting progressively worse. Say what?
I was completely caught of guard by her answer simply because I would not have expected anyone dealing with joint pain to overdo the joint! It seemed crazy to me yet when I reflected on this more it started to make sense. No one likes to be faced with the possibility that our health may not be the way it was when we were younger so we still go hard to prove that we can. Admitting that there is a pending problem is difficult to do because it may mean doing things differently in the future.
I told my new friend that she should ice her sore hip and perhaps take it easier on the elliptical to reduce the pain. I recommended that she stretch, get some massage therapy or physiotherapy and to take care of her hip. Most of all to listen to her body!
Do we listen to our bodies when we are tired? Hungry? Thirsty? When we overeat?
Maybe it is time we all took the time to pay attention.
Pay attention today or pay with pain tomorrow. It sounds harsh but the reality is we all need to stop going a million miles an hour and listen. Someone is talking to you…
John-One Hip Guy