One of the things I love about being an Expat is the diversity of the people you meet. We not only live in a foreign country, but also make friends with people from all around the world. We learn about other cultures and our lives are enriched with their traditions and beliefs.
My Boot camp classes that I have been running for the past four years are a great example of this. The numbers vary as in typical Expat fashion, people often go away (me included) or move countries. At one point half of my class disappeared as three ladies got posted to new countries at the same time.
The lovely ladies that make up the group are a mix of Nationalities and we are constantly learning from each other. We discuss all manner of topics and generally come away from the class feeling a little lighter from the workout and the problems we just shared. I sometimes think the exercise is secondary to the conversation! (Actually I’m pretty sure it is!).
I have mentioned before that my longs runs are where I do my best thinking and often where I get ideas for my posts. Last Sunday, my husband and I set of for what we thought was going to be a 50km race. Both of us ended up pulling out at the 25km mark, me with a sore calf and David as he was still recovering from the Melbourne Marathon.
While I was running, feeling sore and sorry for myself I started wondering what was really wrong with me. Was it my calf, or was it some internal emotional turmoil I was dealing with. You may think this is a strange train of thought, so let me explain.
About 12 months ago I was suffering from a sore foot. It had been niggling for weeks and I had obviously been complaining a lot as at the end of one of my boot camp classes, one of my ladies asked me if she could take a look at it. As well as having a university degree in something I can’t even pronounce, this lady is also studying Chinese herbal medicine (I will call her Pearl for this story).
I was happy to agree to any treatment at that point and eagerly took off my shoe ready for Pearl to heal me. She gently took my foot in her hands and closed her eyes. She sat still and silent for 5 minutes before slowly opening her eyes and telling me that the problem wasn’t in my foot. Before I had a chance to protest that of course it was in my foot, it was damn sore, she asked if she could put her hands on my knee.
Of course I agreed, and the same procedure followed. Pearl enclosed my knee in her warm hands and sat in silent meditation with her eyes closed. After another 5 minutes she took my hand and helped me to my feet. In her soft, serious voice she asked permission to put one hand on my back and one on my stomach.
I was starting to get worried now. She gently rested her hands on me and remained silent for what seemed like hours but was probably about 7 minutes. Eventually Pearl opened her eyes and looked at me solemnly. She told me the problem wasn’t coming from my foot or my knee but from my ovaries. OMG..a cyst, cancer?? She went on to explain that the ovaries represent mother hood and I was feeling pain because I was missing my children and was worried about them.
What Pearl had no way of knowing was that there had been some problems with my two daughters in Australia. I was being torn between my responsibility to my older children back home and my responsibility to my younger daughter who was still trying to fit into life in Hong Kong. (I’m sure a lot of you can relate to that!). Pearl’s diagnosis was spot on and of course I immediately burst into tears. Between sobs I tried to explain the situation to her and why it was causing me so much pain. (All this was taking part in the park where I run my classes and we were getting some very strange looks!).
It was an emotionally moving experience for me, and a learning curve. The situation in Australia eventually got sorted and my foot healed without me getting any treatment on it other than Pearl’s wise words, and a lot of foot massages.
What was driven home to me that day was how lucky I was to be able to learn from Pearl. She has a very different approach to life and healing to what I do, but I feel blessed that she was able to share her knowledge with me. I’m not saying that letting go of the stress in your life can cure every injury, but it is certainly an interesting concept to think about. The experience created an awareness that I need to listen to my body and look at the holistic picture, not just the external one.
My Boot camp ladies and all the people I have met on this amazing journey have enriched my life. I am more aware than ever of the importance of being open and respectful to everyone’s culture and beliefs. The expat lifestyle gives us an opportunity to broaden our knowledge and open our minds; it would be remiss of us not to embrace that.
So this was my train of thought as I struggled through my run last Sunday. Was my calf really sore, or was I suffering some internal emotional turmoil that was affecting me physically? I think another visit to Pearl is in order and perhaps a session with my physio.