My knees and I used to be on a curt, speaking relationship. We used to be comfortable with each other's eccentricities, maybe not understanding but accepting. These days, however, all is rebelling. In Brenda's words, my body is changing.
My knees crack and creak, they holler in exhaustion. They are not happy. My legs on the whole are not happy, but as I see it this is an opportunity, and in fact, a necessary one. It was always necessary that I learn to use my body efficiently, but before it gave me trouble there was little motivation to do it. Before the pain, there is simply inefficiency. Granted, when put to much use, those inefficiencies create pain, so maybe this is two sides of the same coin. The fact of the matter, however, is that it's time to start using my body right.
There was an old Aikido teacher who said that we should always continue to train through our injuries. When we compensate to protect an injured part, we are fully aware of what any motion will do to that part. The point of our training is to become that aware of our whole body at all times.
So being injured teaches two things. It teaches efficiency. As long as my knees are not completely shot, I can continue to walk and dance, but I have to do so carefully. I have to try to find leg motion that protects them. To do this, I am forced to cultivate awareness of my legs.
So I try to continue to learn. For the sake of my knees.
