3 Tips to reset our mind to overcome injury

I know how frustrating to practice with pain. Believe me, you are not alone. If you follow my life on Instagram, you may notice my right bicep tendon has been injured since Feb last year. I can’t even raise & rotate my arm on the worst day. Here, I would like to share a couple of tips with you to overcome injury.

1. Blame yourself doesn’t help with recovery.

No one wants to get injured. But the fact is, we cannot 100% prevent injury even at the Olympic level, where athletes work with a team of professionals. We have to investigate the cause of injury in order to learn from it but not blame it. Time cannot go back when we blame. Learning helps us to reduce the chance of injury in the future. Spend energy on what’s really helpful. Also, a positive mind & happy mood helps to lower the feeling of pain and boost the recovery.

2. Don’t let fear stop you

I see some of us skip the rehab training or even stop doing what injuries us forever when recovering. They may never visit that posture again. Or even stop practicing. I understand there is fear of work on the injury part again. But we may miss out the best recovering time. The worst case is, we lost our confidence. Once my tendon feels stronger, I get back to my regular training slowly & observe how it reacts. It gives the injury part a chance to adapt to the workload gradually so it can work as well as or even better than before. If you have concerns, kindly check with a medical professional. Let the injury bite us forever or make us stronger. It's our choice.

3. Don’t just focus on what you can’t do.

Think of what you can do. If my shoulder gets injured, I can still train my upper body in a way that I don’t feel pain. Or work on other parts of my body. I can take this break to develop other techniques or do more study. Yes, my handstand strength may regress, but I accept the fact. Because I believe that if we build on our own, we can get it back when we heal. Just a time matter. What are we rushing for?

Speedy recover if you are experiencing injury right now. Remember, you are not alone.