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Pain free exercise to recover from injury

Horse health, Human health, older and happier · February 28, 2016

Lauren & Bob
Lauren found a place of healing doing this imaginary exercise and then enjoyed helping Bob to release his stress and tension too.

 

I was telling my friend yesterday about this excellent tip to exercise muscle without actually moving it.  She had a knee replacement a couple of days ago and she was telling me that she couldn’t move her knee yet to do the physiotherapy exercises.  The amount of pain she was in meant that she was way beyond being able to move anything.

So I told her about this baby step that she could do to get progress – to exercise without pain.

40% of your muscle activates if you just move that limb / use that muscle in your imagination – if you just visualize the movement.

Slowly and deliberately and with inner awareness is the key to getting the muscle to activate gently and to increase the healing opportunities from that movement – it’s the same Inner Awareness that you are in when you do that First Key to Happiness with Your Horse.  If you haven’t had those free lessons yet, there’s a link to get them at the bottom of the page.

That’s a very big deal hidden in that sentence.  There are enormous opportunities for healing being created, when we visualize a very slow movement, with a gentle awareness of our body.

Have a feel of it for yourself.  Right now…  If you’re sitting in a chair – stretch one leg out just a bit.  Now just imagine that you were bringing the leg back towards the chair by dragging the heel across the floor.

This is not an isometric exercise, you are not tightening the muscle on purpose, this is different – you are just visualizing pulling the foot across the floor back towards your body.

Can you feel it?  Can you feel that faint engagement of the muscle?

Now do it really, REALLY slowly, even though it’s only your imagination, do it 100 times slower than a snail.  Well… maybe not QUITE that slow, but you get the idea.  🙂 Do it so slowly that you could take two or three long relaxed breaths to do this imaginary exercise.

Can you feel the change when you do it incredibly slowly like that?  Can you feel the difference in the quality of the movement?  Can you feel the difference on the relaxation of the rest of your body?

Play with it.  Explore it .  Do tiny little “pretend” movements to bring your leg closer to the chair and then stop and allow the leg to go back again and then do another little tiny “pretend” movement.

Notice what’s happening to the rest of your body while you’re doing these tiny little “pretend” movements. Notice what’s happening to your breathing, notice what’s happening to your shoulders.  Can you do this “pretend” movement so gently that your shoulders stay relaxed and you are still breathing easily?  Can you do this imaginary exercise with soft, smiling eyes?

Have you found the place where your body starts to tingle?

After my friend with the knee replacement, I was doing a healing session with Lauren’s horse Bob, who had fallen and broken Lauren’s leg (photo above), tearing all the ligaments around her knee at the same time.

Coincidentally in her own healing session earlier in the week, I had been showing her exactly the same exercise in the same way.  She found the place of not trying too hard, where her leg was tingling – which is a very healing energy!  And reported that every time she visualizes the exercise before she physically does the exercise, then she achieved a better range of movement with little to no pain.

Lauren & Bob 2 websizedI’m not surprised at this validation – like Moshe Feldenkrais (a very famous and brilliant body worker who developed the Feldenkrais method) I have long known that there were very powerful healing opportunities in visualized, slow movement with a deep awareness of how our body is feeling – in fact it’s one of the secrets to the success of our on line riding lessons!

Bob released his stress and tension too, his spine started aligning in front of our eyes and as you can see, they just oozed happiness and relaxation with each other.

 

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Filed Under: Horse health, Human health, older and happier

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary House says

    February 29, 2016 at 4:01 pm

    too complicated to put here – will email separately Jenny – all part of the healing circle I seem to be in!

    Reply
  2. Devony says

    February 29, 2016 at 6:59 am

    Wonderful, helpful instruction! I’m gonna use it pain or no!

    Reply
    • jennya says

      February 29, 2016 at 10:55 am

      I’m glad it was useful Devony! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Clara Sharp says

    February 28, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    This is just what I need….I can do while on the plane or anywhere for that matter.
    My hip feels much freer and much less pain on movement now.
    Thanks and love to you Jenny.
    I will be tuned in tomorrow to the webcast.

    Reply
    • jennya says

      February 28, 2016 at 3:30 pm

      High five Clara! Woohoo! I am SO very pleased about the relief in your hips and I look forward to “seeing” you tomorrow on our monthly student Live Seminar.

      Reply
  4. Mary House says

    February 28, 2016 at 11:59 am

    You’ve done it again Jenny – I am sitting here with a sore jaw, thought to be due to clenching at night (dont laugh) but probably due to being pushed around by a clients horse a few weeks ago, anyway the muscles all round my tmj on one side are tending to shriek! Actual stretching is making it worse so now I shall do imaginery excercises! thanks Mary (with Sasha)

    Reply
    • jennya says

      February 28, 2016 at 12:28 pm

      Glad to serve in such a timely way Mary! 🙂 Let us know how it goes please!

      Reply
      • Kelli says

        July 5, 2016 at 7:28 pm

        Have you ever thought about publishing an e-book or guest authoring on other websites? I have a blog centered on the same topics you discuss and would love to have you share some stioaes/informotirn. I know my readers would enjoy your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an email.

        Reply
        • jennyp says

          July 5, 2016 at 9:54 pm

          I’d love to, given the right time. I’ve got an article cooking for someone at the moment that I am dreadfully late on!

          Reply

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