A glimpse of the other side

I tried something new this morning -- Gyrotonics. What is that? According to the Gyrotonic Health Network website, it "is an exercise modality that guides users to simultaneously stretch and strengthen muscles and tendons while also articulating and mobilizing the joints. Corresponding breathing patterns are engaged during the performance of the exercises, thereby increasing coordination, endurance and aerobic activity." (http://www.gyrotonic.com/index.aspx)


It was similar to Pilates in some ways, isolating areas of the body and moving from the core. But it was also very different -- a larger potential plane of motion, stretching in different ways and really opening the joints. I left the studio feeling like I haven't felt in a year. On a scale from 0 to 10, 10 being excruciating blinding pain and 0 being completely pain-free, I was a 0. WOW. Being at a 0 was strange. I've grown so accustomed to a general uncomfortable throbbing in my hip/leg that what I've come to believe is a general 2-3 has gradually become my 0-1. But this feeling was a true 0. I had literally forgotten what being pain-free felt like. And oh my, it was bliss.

I use the past tense intentionally. Leaving bliss behind, putting on heals, sitting at a desk, the general dull throbbing returned within an hour and a half.  The good news is that my dull throbbing isn't as bad as it normally is. So that's improvement, I guess. But I am already looking forward to my next session and curious whether I can re-harness that amazing feeling.

During the week, I attended a new yoga class. It was a combination of gentle yoga (i.e., lots of stretching) and basic yoga (basic postures, but still challenging for a newbie like me). It was a great class for me and I'm getting more comfortable doing my own thing when I need to. I'm listening to my body and respecting it more so when the teacher had us move in a way that I thought would aggravate my hip pain, I either modified or continued doing what was feeling good until the teacher moved on. After class, I asked the instructor for her suggestions on stretches for the IT band and piriformis and she gave me some that I really felt. Glad I stuck around and asked.

I don't know if my eagerness to heal myself without surgery is smart or simply a doomed attempt at self-delusion and denial. Ultimately, I wonder if it matters. Were I to have the surgery, wouldn't I still have all these other muscular imbalances and issues to deal with at that point?