Dooley Noted: 1/14/15
I asked a patient to toe touch.
He immediately said, “I fear that movement.”
He had a flexion intolerant low back. Thus, I understood the fear.
The perception of difficulty fuels fear. And fear stuns and stagnates.
I watched his fearful attempt and asked if there was pain.
He said, “No. I’ve just had pain doing that before. It’s how I initially hurt my back.”
Now, a toe touch is global flexion. So, if your body doesn’t share a load, you will feel it – usually around your folcrum of the bend.
If fear cannot be quickly dissipated, then the perception of difficulty must be shifted.
So, I reverse engineered his toe touch.
He started from the ground up, grabbing his toes and carefully flexing his spine within a non-painful range.
He focused on breathing, so he couldn’t focus on fear or difficulty.
And, his toe touch vastly improved.
He was surprised and delighted.
After his visit, I had an appointment at the barbell.
There was a time only a few months ago that I thought lifting 200 lb would be impossible.
Yesterday, I deadlifted that weight for 5 reps. Then 3. Then 2 more. It wasn’t easy, but there was ease.
I’ve lifted more than 200 pounds. So, it was no longer perceived as difficult and could now be performed for reps.
It’s only difficult if you perceive it to be so.
And if you can’t let go of the perception of difficulty, hire some help to teach you how to work around it.
Find someone who can do what you currently can’t, so that you can see it can be earned.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley