Plateau

Some aerial classes I feel free. I feel like I am strong and graceful and can fly. Other aerial classes, I feel stuck. I feel weak and clumsy and like I can barely get my feet off the ground. Last week was the latter. I ran through pieces of my routine a few times, but still did not succeed in my weeks-long goal of making it through a full routine - never mind that my routine is still very basic and rather short.

To make matters worse, I am skipping aerial this week because everything hurts. My hamstring is knotted, spasming, cramping, and going numb just walking and kneeling (I kneel all day at work with the kids). My shoulder is stabbing. My wrists are aching. My knee sometimes decides to remind me that I sprained it a few years back. My ankles start to feel heavy. My back is clenched up and aching, and my sacroiliac joint can't decide which direction to be displaced. My headache waxes and wanes in time with my dose of Tylenol - just Tylenol, because NSAIDs apparently cause me severe hives all over my torso now.

So I hurt. I feel stuck. I feel frustrated in my body. I'm exhausted. I just want to sleep for a full day or vacation in the Bahamas or stuff my face with low-calorie ice cream until I don't even like it anymore. But I can't do any of those things. So instead, I will just find myself a local physical therapist (I don't count, I work with children only), resume my hand therapy, and maybe get a massage. I will to return to aerial until my body is ready. Because if I've learned anything through the years, it's to listen to my body.

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