Eating Elephants

“There is an elephant sitting on top of me AND I am holding a spoon. In order to get out from under it I will eat it one bite at a time with said spoon. It is going to take a while but, bite by bite, it will be done.”

This is the image my BFF (also a hip dysplasia patient) and I refer to all the time, encouraging each other to do the daily steps, no matter in which direction they may be. Sometimes there is a shift in the elephant, sometimes it seems to grow, and sometimes the daily bites finally add up to huge chunks being removed. The rule with elephant eating is that there is no boo-hooing, just keep on eating and eventually we will be free.

Back To My Toolbox…

Elephant Eating is my approach with the final elements to share in the physical realm of my toolbox. Bear with me, I realize this may not be particularly interesting or emotionally moving, but it has been vitally important, therefore it is worth sharing. These are not necessarily novel ideas, but they are productive, as fun as I choose for them to be, and even creative.

In my experience (once upon a time as a PT assistant), a lot of people come out of rehabilitative PT and don’t really know what to do next. There’s still work to be done to bridge the gap between rehab graduation and full return to sport, especially a stronger and better-than-ever return. For me right now, I’m finding muscles that I’m certain I’ve never used in my entire life – I must figure out how these fit in and how to use my body correctly. It is absolutely exciting and I want to do it right!

Weights

My first stop is always light weights. In an effort to keep it fun, and so I stay in my lane (read: not overdo it), I start Les Mills Pump OnDemand workouts. I start super light, using just body weight for lower body moves at first. In fact, lower body is barely anything, teasing my way into the full ROMs – I’m talking 6” vertical movement for a squat. Tiny elephant eating bites. This progresses, the weights increase, and I’m on my way.

Yoga

Yoga is an important element. Symmetry, breathwork, patience, mobility, strength. Each time I come to the mat, I am able to slow down my body and mind, breathe, notice lack of symmetry free from judgment, learn, make progress when it comes, baby step my way into better mobility, focus on balance externally and internally. A lot of elephant eating happens here! Some days I move awesomely and some days I lie in savasana the whole time, finding gratitude in the moments to just breathe. The most important part is showing up and doing whatever is appropriate that day.

🍑 💣

Peach Bomb is my own creation, a 6-month long daily program for the booty, especially geared towards hip patients. I’ve never made it all the way through (yet) since I’ve had surgery interruptions, but holy booty, it has worked for me when I’ve been able to do it! If you want to try it, send me a message, I’m happy to share.

This is my final result right before this last surgery. I’ve lost some progress but I’ll get it back.

Walk/Run

This has mostly been a pipe dream but I’ve dabbled, checking on status, reminding myself that I’m not ready.

This is all daily grind work, steps towards my overarching goals. Chop wood, carry water. Eat elephants. It isn’t glamorous but it all matters and all adds up. It is where possibility exists and doing turns into becoming.

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