Who would have thunk it? Today I woke up with the crook in my neck again. Maybe a little better, but on the whole still painful to move around. Honestly was so tired this morning that I'm not sure if I took some tylenol, but to be honest it hasn't been that helpful. Then get this - after my yin yoga practice today, the pain is mostly gone. I don't really understand it, but maybe there is something to this healing art of getting into connective tissue / fascia of the joint that Travis keeps harping on about. I'm not 100% better, but I can now turn my neck most of the way to the left and the right before it starts hurting.
Well that's pretty awesome. I'm also a little sore in the core again, which is doubly awesome because it makes me feel like I'm making progress. I was a little disappointed I wasn't getting sore anymore (guess I'm somewhat masochistic). I was able to get into all the poses a little better today, in part because of increased flexibility (one hopes) and in part because I bought a new ceramic space heater for the living room. The space heater works really really well until it trips the circuit in the room. After this happens twice I decide that third time might be the charm, but only if I use it on low heat. This works. :) Not as nice and toasty, but better than freezing my buns off.
I'm definitely less focused than last week and I realize why (no not Mila Kunis lookalike's low cut top) - my reduced supplement dosage. For years I have used NoXplode not only for its strength and energy enhancing purposes (the primary purpose of the product), but also for its feel good and mental focus functions. This is why the stuff gets so addictive. You feel great, though like any drug that feeling wears off over time and you need increased dosages. You also have great mental focus and intellectual capability. It is actually a form of cheating, but in our competitive world it is hard to keep up without it. Occasionally I still kick myself for not taking my supplements the day of my LSAT. I actually performed about 5 points lower than my testing average as a result. Still not sure why I made the call not to take it, but maybe it was for the best for reasons beyond the scope of this post.
Anyway, that is a very helpful realization because it allows me to be more patient with myself in this transition phase. This is made more poignant by Travis' discussion of the lifespan of professional athletes. Won't give it away, but it really helps put things into perspective. If I want to live a long and happy life, without the anxiety and tension of stimulants, without the aches and pains of using chemical means to push myself harder than I should (mentally and physically), then I need to accept that my performance may not be at its peak level and that's ok. Artificial high performance may benefit my company, my friends, my family or even me in the short run, but in the long run it does damage and can limit the time I have on this Earth with my son and nothing in this limited lifetime is more important than that.
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