Design your day with healing in mind

Let’s think about building a results-oriented and savory day:

Whether we are weeks or months before surgery, or weeks or months afterwards, we can positively influence the course of your recovery by composing your day with intention (rather than habit and custom).

Each of our days (if we are serious about accelerating your healing) will have something for the psyche and something for the soma (body). Our situation has already impacted us on every level. We will heal better if we nurture and feed and strengthen ourselves on all levels.

For the mind and heart, I suggest beginning each day with Peggy Huddleston’s Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster CD.

• These recordings, practiced at least once each day, inoculate us from discouragement, frustration and overdoing it.  Like any vaccination, it doesn’t work 100% of the time (but don’t worry… we have other modalities to help keep us in a good place.)
• Do not underestimate the value of these “relaxation tapes”. In our uber-productive lives, we poo-poo the notion of relaxing. Or our idea of relaxing is playing a sport or reading. We’re talking about a level of relaxation so profound that we are putting our systems into ‘restoration mode’, otherwise known as the parasympathetic nervous system.
• What’s the best time of day to do mind training?  There’s a reason monks pray during the morning hours: our minds are less active, and our bodies are likely in their most relaxed state of the day (though of course we may be stiff, you won’t be moving). While an afternoon training session can be a perfect alternative to coffee or doldrums, we are likely fairly “stirred up” by the events of our day thus far, making the session about calming down to neutral, rather than training us to achieve deeper states of well being .
• Think you don’t have time in the morning?  Wake up 20 minutes early (and yes, that means going to bed 20 minutes early, too).
• Requirements: darkness, quiet, and assurance that you will not be disturbed. Eyemask, noise-cancelling headphones optional.

For the body: Every day we walk and, bike or swim.

Also for the body: on some days we will see a trainer or receive a chiropractic or bodywork session. Other days we will do some nurturing physical activity (in addition to our walking and biking or swimming). Maybe that’s 15 minutes of stretching while listening to music. Maybe you discover a T’ai Ch’i or Self-Breema class.

Also for the body: once a week, we’ll spend an hour with our trainer. On other days we’ll do the strength and stability exercises our trainer selects for us (except on rest days, while the muscles are rebuilding stronger.)