Leaning Into the Pain

My second therapy session began with confession: I have been working 15 hour days and have not been diligent with my exercises. Physical therapists are acutely aware of the human condition. They understand that few of us are willing to hurt ourselves on purpose. Yet the cliche is rooted in truthful reality: pain with a purpose.
She began with a deep massage of my wrist and arm to address swelling and to make it easier for ligaments or tendons (what's the difference?) to slide through tissues (some with scarring). She was careful but gently persistent in showing me how to stretch and move into the pain. To regain flexibility it will have to hurt.
I remember a lesson from my tai chi instructor. He would require us to stand in a position where the muscles would begin to burn.  The body's natural response was to pull away from the pain but the instructor said: Lean more deeply into the pain and then relax.
We need a companion to guide and help us find our way toward shalom. A therapist who understands that for my wrist to turn more fully it may be necessary to address some issues in my elbow. An instructor who undersatnds the counter-intuitive/paradoxical way of  body, mind, heart, soul and life.
Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. Matt. 10:39