Pain

I did something to my neck last week, and for the last four days have been in serious pain. It seems to be getting better now, (fingers crossed) but it's made me think. I've been really irritable the last few days, partly because of the pain, and partly because I haven't been able to sleep. We take our bodies for granted, I think, assume they'll keep carrying us around indefinitely. But like any precision machinery, our bodies need TLC.

It's only when something starts hurting, that I realize how little consideration I give my body. I exercise, I eat reasonably well, I don't smoke or drink to excess (often), but I don't do anything particularly good for it either. No massages, or acupressure, or even Pilates these days. I spend long hours hunched over a keyboard, pounding keys with my fingertips and squinting at a screen. And now, my body's protesting about it. Fair enough.

So, I am resolving to be more careful in the future, to start listening to those little signals my muscles send me to tell me enough is enough. Maybe I need to re-structure my workstation at home, the way I did my workstation at the office. Maybe I need to take a little break from writing to let my body recover. I don't know.

What do you do when your body tells you you need a break?

And don't forget the contest.... There are still plenty of opportunities to win a critique!