Rapid Healing

It has been 28 days since I rolled my car on to its roof.  I walked away with 5 fractures – 2 to my left clavicle, as well as my sternum, a rib and my left wrist.  During the ambulance transport, my pulse was 42 and blood pressure 120/70.  The attendants were curious about my calm nature and refusal to accept any medication for pain.  I spent less than 24 hours in the hospital for x-rays and CAT scans.  Upon my release, Betsy and I went directly to a book signing by Matt Long.

Less than a minute after I rolled the car, as I exited feet first through a broken window, I decided to view this experience as a “breakthrough” – an end to one cycle and the beginning of something new.  There would be no “what-ifs”, no regrets.  I am certain that this choice in perspective had great bearing on my calm state and rapid rehab.  I told my friends, “there are no limitations, only possibilities and opportunities.”

There is one more significant element to my graceful embrace of this event.  For the past 34 years, I have practiced T’ai Chi almost every day.  This simple practice is the very best investment I’ve made in my life.  In this blog, I offer a brief explanation.  This is not a sales pitch – it is a sincere offering of my experience.

I enjoy many forms of exercise and the opportunity for mindful, meditative practice in each – swimming, biking, running, yoga, Pilates, and nordic skiing. However, for me, T’ai Chi surpasses all others as a practice for strengthening my neural system.  A strong neural system is able to transmit stimulus without fatigue.  Although I feel pain from the fractures, my neural system is not traumatized by the stimulus.  My calm, relaxed state accelerated the recovery significantly.

Neural strength is a valuable asset during endurance athletics as well.  When an athlete’s neural system is well-trained, there is less fatigue during long intense races, less breakdown in efficient technique and therefore less incidence of injury and a greater rate of recovery.  Remember, we train three systems as athletes – muscular, metabolic and neural.  The neural system responds and improves the most to training.

Forty hours after my injury, I did my first T’ai Chi practice.  I could barely move my left arm or shoulder that first time, but this did not deter me.  The session was short – 10 or 15 minutes – but I clearly felt the flow of energy and the ability to articulate that flow through the trauma sites.  Within 2 days, I was able to move my left arm through much of the practice.  In 6 days, I could raise and extend my left arm overhead.  (The general consensus is that it can take months to do this after breaking a clavicle, never mind in two places!)  On Day 8, I biked on my stationary stand and enjoyed an aerobic workout.  I entered the Endless Pool after 10 days.  While I had enough shoulder and arm mobility to swim slowly, it was difficult to expand my chest quickly for that inhale.  Day 12 was my first very gentle run – 10 minutes.  Day 16 I ran slowly for an hour.  (That run was just to honor a tradition of doing a long run on Thanksgiving Day.  I admit, the repeated impact of even a gentle run at that length did slightly traumatize the injury sites.)

At 28 days, I am swimming and drilling for up to 30 minutes without struggle, though I still need a ladder or steps to exit the pool.  My stationary bike workouts include intense interval work and my short runs are frequent, with hill intervals.  I can honestly say my multisport lifestyle is enjoyable and robust!

It is difficult to explain how the slow and gentle movements of T’ai Chi can affect such remarkable energetic strength.  This is my very basic summary:  As I practice, my breath and movement are closely integrated to articulate the flow of both Yin energy and Yang energy through my body.  I can distinctly feel the flow of each.  As I inhale, the Yin energy enters through the balls of my feet and ascends through my spine.  As I exhale, the Yang energy enters through the crown of my head and descends down the front of my body.  These energies are balanced and fused to create “chi” or life energy, also known as “mana” and “prana”.  This life energy circulates through my body, both in the neural currents and in the blood.  It is stored and accumulated in the bone marrow as well.  (Bone marrow is where blood cells are created.)

Trauma can cause disruptions in many ways.  In my experience, a deep daily practice of T’ai Chi, for just 30 minutes, cloaks me in an “energetic armor” that significantly diminishes the impact of physical, emotional and mental trauma.  My armor is weightless, infinitely flexible and highly functional.  I will enjoy the deep “wilderness” of this practice as long as I am able.  Youth is a gift of nature.  Age is a work of art.  T’ai Chi is essential to the art of my life and aging.

And today, for the first time in a month… I sneezed!  Ah, it felt great! 

Shane Eversfield is a Total Immersion Master Coach, author of “Zendurance, A Spiritual Fitness Guide for Endurance Athletes”, and producer of the DVD “T’ai Chi for Athletes”.  He is also a contributing editor to Hammer Nutrition Endurance News.  Contact him here or on Facebook.