Health as a Guide

Have you ever tried snowboarding? How about in your 30s? Well… that’s an experience I’d like to discuss with you today.

I deal with vasovagal syncope which causes symptoms including briefly losing vision, sometimes fully passing out, drained energy, confusion, etc. when triggers occur. The easiest way to trigger an episode is for me to get overheated and do squats. Now… let’s set the scene.

It’s 40* outside. I had two pairs of socks, pants, 2 tops, a toboggan, face mask, and goggles with snow pants and a ski jacket on too. I’d never snowboarded before (although I’m a decent skier). Read: I fell down… a lot! Have you ever tried standing up with a snowboard attached to your feet? It’s not easy (kudos to all the boarders out there)! I essentially did a bunch of sit ups, very quickly, causing most of the above symptoms. They happened over and over until I finally realized… I needed to stop.

At that point, there were two ways to view the situation:

1.) I had failed.

2.) I was respecting my body and its limits by listening to it.

Notice how differently those messages hit. Notice what happens in your body when you read each. A simple change in mindset can reframe an entire situation.

Sometimes in life, we’re going to face challenges. Sometimes, we will need to listen to our bodies, or our gut, or our heart, and we will need to stop. Our culture so often tells us to go, then go, and then go some more. Push yourself. Ignore how you feel. Go until you are completely depleted of energy. It’s easy for us to get trapped in feeling like failures or not good enough when those are the messages we’ve received for years!

Let’s start listening to our bodies. Maybe it’s okay to push yourself, but also pace the push. We don’t have to do everything right now in this world of instant gratification. Pace, build slow. Take your time and listen to your body along the way.

As for me, I might try snowboarding again one day, but it won’t be for an entire day, and it definitely won’t be a day when the bunny slope is crowded again. I will pace the push!