An essential part of healing an injury is paying close attention to your body.  Being a dancer, not a day goes by where I don’t notice a new ache or pain pop up somewhere.  What’s important is knowing which twinges to ignore and which to coddle.  Honing this pain-filtering system is an essential part of succeeding as a professional dancer.  It’s not a skill that is acquired over night, but one that develops over time at its own pace.  The only way to cultivate it is to focus.  And try.

While I’m usually the type to overwork an injury, most often refusing to let my body take the necessary recovery time (or any recovery time at all, for that matter…hELLLOOoo Swan Lake on a sprained ankle), this back injury has completely turned the tables on me.  I’ve been away from the studio for a total of 4 days now, and boy am I missing it over there.  But this time I want to go back to ballet with the confidence of a person whose back is spasm-free.  I must say- after Day 2 of acupuncture, I am feeling the results.  I feel more mobile and relaxed.  My muscles are slowly letting their guards down, and while I can’t say I’ve miraculously healed, I am certainly better than I was yesterday.  And you know what?  That’s what this healing thing is all about.