More Core than Core

About a month ago I cracked my ribs on the Whoops trail in Bend.
It was my second run down and that trail is built to make one feel
pro, and though my plan wasn't to get air the jumps contradicted my
intention, pushing me to my gravitational limit. So with my butt almost as far back as my wheel I was indeed
going to land this fluky jump - until I looked up
and realized I was headed for a tree. My better reflexes turned my handlebars
out of the way and I came crashing down on my ribs. The better option, I'm
convinced.
The rest of the ride was pitiful.
Breathing hurt.
If anyone has injured a rib they know how annoying it can be. The simplest
movements, especially getting up and lying down, are torture. Then you'll
get mystery sneezes that feel like you've pierced the depths of your being.

Since I'd already planned on doing the 6hrs of Washugal a week later
I went ahead and did it. My ribs hadn't improved a bit, in fact, they felt worse than before.
My support crew consisted of Abby, Sarah, and
a bottle of Advil, and I did the race. It was painful yet awesome and riding home
from Washugal was just what we needed for our hundred mile mountain bike race
training.

Shortly after the race, and about a week and a half after the injury I went
to see a friend of mine who does body/energy/somatic/movement therapy. It's
hard to describe exactly what she does because it's very subtle. I told her
about my ribs and she did some light massage and instantly I felt better.
Not only that but she talked me through some movement therapy and I visualized
myself from the inside out - my whole skeletal system working in one unit. Implementing
that into the way I do everything, which is hard because of stubborn patterns that
already exist. But, Hans Selye observed stress to be a disease of adaptability, so rather than think I'm stuck in a fixed arrangement I am learning the ways in which my
body wants to align itself.

This process is more core than core, and it takes constant mindfulness. It's
retraining the brain and utilizing the body to its fullest potential. The body is
an instrument and anyone who at one time or another has been in the 'flow', which I hope is everyone, knows how supple, efficient, and comfortable this space is.

The mind, body, bike connectedness creates a perfect balance of conscious energy that
pairs wonderfully with my shreditation philosophy on life. This is just the beginning stage of learning a whole lot more about this way of living, but I'm curious and
excited to become more familiar with this insight.

I love theorizing life through mountain biking.