Yo-Yoga

Second post-op appointment complete. My wrist is on the mend! I am out of the brace and beginning the long road back to wrist mobility. After much research, the best tool for rehab so far is a yo-yo. The movements required are exactly the fluid flexion and extension I need to re-train.

I am right handed so threading my left finger through the loop and flinging it around was really difficult–but only initially. Within a few minutes I was able to find my way to a compensated but successful round of yo-yoing. My lack of coordination morphed first into one pointed concentration and then into curious satisfaction.

It’s easy to forget that our emotions are also a neural response.

Oftentimes we come to any sort of movement experience from the perspective of physical skill building. For example, I want better wrist mobility so I’m going to master left handed yo-yo technique. Instead, if I shift my intentions to having the most fun possible with the yo-yo, skill building is not only learned but associated with pleasure.

Like a handshake, the clasp requires both the motor control neurons and the emotional centers of the brain to engage. Emotion is not secondary to motor control: it's interdependent.

When the body moves efficiently, I refer to this experience as organization–the muscles are exerting just as much as they need to perform a movement sequence. However, I can also emphasize emotional organization where ease turns into pleasure and mastery turns into play.

Therefore, I’m going to let my wrist teach me what I laughingly call yo-yoga. And, in the process, I am going to learn how to feel my way forward instead of fight my way back.