Recovery

I take the most amazing spin classes at Equinox Fitness Club in Woodbury, New York with Kristen Gagne. Interval training -raising the heart rate through short bursts of effort followed by recovery - is part of the program. Kristen explains that the uncomfortable feeling will always feel uncomfortable. It is the threshold for tolerance of the discomfort that changes. Kristen also emphasizes the importance of recovery. With a room full of cardio junkies who are constantly on the go, Kristen demands that we stop pedaling our bikes at warp speed and take it easy for a few seconds before the next bout. The recovery phase, she explains, is work and the ability to recover quickly is the hallmark of an athlete.

Just like physical intervals, emotional pain and stress will always be painful and stressful. The ability to persevere in the face of emotional discomfort and stress, as well as the ability to recover, are crucial to overall well-being. Isn't is just like life to toss into our paths seemingly insurmountable obstacles, emergencies or crises? Some crises are like long, challenging intervals with no recovery in sight, as when a child is fighting cancer or living with a permanent disability. In those situations, a new threshold for tolerance of stress is developed purely as a matter of survival. Having lived through that type of long-term pain, I learned to create short a breaks in the interval simply to catch my emotional breath.

Functioning in the wake of a painful situation isn't easy. In many ways, it is easier to remain paralyzed by stress, frustration and pain. Entrapment by those emotions provides a convenient excuse to not move forward. They are the food of depression. But despair never helped anybody. Just as intervals don't last forever, neither does emotional stress. Someday, the opportunity for recovery will come - sooner in some instances and later in others. The form of recovery is different for different situations, but recovery is essential. Forever sustaining stress at the rough equivalent an anaerobic level is simply impossible.

Moving on is difficult. We hold on to our wounds, we replay arguments in our heads, we maintain grudges over matters long extinguished and are thus prevented from living in the moment. Once an interval is over, it is essential to leave that stress level behind. Recognizing the futility of holding on to stress and letting go is not simple. It requires surrender. It requires slowing the pedals down and letting that heart rate fall. Indeed recovery is the hardest work of all.