Taking care of yourself is not a one-time exercise that you do then put on repeat mode. Your needs are going to change every single day - sometimes multiple times during the day. Being cognizant to what you need in any particular moment is as much about looking back into your toolbox as it is about discovering new practices.
Up to this point in the tour, I had prided myself in staying in good physical condition. I was worked extremely hard to manage pre-existing medical conditions and create a sustainable physical practice - listening to my body and giving it what it needed to be able to physically deliver 8 or 9 shows a week. Then about 4 weeks ago, I sustained a minor physical injury on stage to a part of my body with a pre-existing medical condition. Fortunately, this new injury is nothing that will have long-term consequences. But it would turn out to be serious enough in the short-term to impact both my daily life and also my ability to be on stage.
I have lived with pre-existing medical conditions long enough to know how far I can push myself and the impact a physical ilmitation can have on one’s emotional well-being.
So for the last 4 weeks, I have been extremely dilligent in my care and rehabilitation of this new injury because knowing that it is getting better helps me focus on stage. I have also made changes to my daily routine that holds space for my mental and emotional well-being and all the while, being aware of the mental toll carrying these two injuries on a single body part has (how rehabilitating one injury negatively impacts the other) as well as the how much my body is compensating for not one, but two injuries.
When this new injury finally turned a corner 4 days ago near the end of our Zurich run, I felt my entire body relax and I suddenly became aware of all this hidden tension I had been holding in my body for the last month. I know with certaintly that this hidden tension comes - not from the physical injury - but from the mental and emotional toll, and I began to wonder just how much hidden tension I am holding from my pre-existing medical conditions, and that perhaps the journey I need to release that tension is an inner journey.
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My name is Eu Jin. I embarked on a career as a professional actor after 20 years in the corporate world. I am a big advocate of personal growth in the performing arts. I dedicate time and energy in performing arts education, specifically in the arena of practical approaches to inner health because I believe that this lays the groundwork for a sustainable career as an artiste.
If you would like to engage in a conversation about a healthy inner life practice, please leave me a message on the "Contact" page of my website and a way to contact you. Thank you.