I’ve had a lot of folks reach out to me since my last post about not living in pain anymore.  Yes, its true:  my pain levels are at their all-time lowest since the car accident.  Yes, I can do many things pain free today that were impossible.  And yes, I think it can work for you.  The three keys to me recovery have been adding core strength, DDP yoga and cryotherapy.  They’ve all played a big role.  Whole cryotherapy helped manage the pain, DDP yoga is rebuilding my entire body. 

There are days where I am sore, sure.  But those pain levels are not constant.  And of course, my frequency of exercise occasionally leaves me with sore muscles.  Cryotherapy helped make the muscle recovery go much faster, by the way.  My average pain level is always below a .5 on a scale of 1-10 unless I do something to tweak it.  Look, there are still things I can’t do.  I struggle with deadlifts; in fact, I’m still not able to lift as much weight as I previously could.  It’s getting better each week.

As mentioned previously, I occasionally used DDP Yoga prior to the car accident.  I wanted to increase core strength, so I mixed it into my routine.  I found it helpful to workout out soreness while marathon training or to hammer out some lingering stiffness.  It worked out well, but I think it would have been more effective by adding some consistency back then. 

I avoided almost all physical activity for the first six months after the injury.  I eventually started physical therapy around that time.  I noticed very quickly that many of the stretches and rehab movements taught by my PT had similarities to DDP Yoga.  In fact, I think around 25% of them are movements actually included in the DDP Yoga program.  Not long afterwards, I started DDP Yoga again.  As time has gone on, I have increased the frequency and duration.  In retrospect, I wish I would have utilized DDP Yoga earlier and more frequent.  This is the biggest “do-over” I have for my recovery.

The most amazing part of DDP Yoga is it works regardless of fitness level.  You can get started today, whether you’re a gym rat or you’ve never worked out since PE class back in school.  The program also works around any physical limitations or injuries that you may have.  There are DDP Yoga workouts from a bed or a chair for those who are very limited.  If you haven’t seen any videos about it*, check out these two videos:  Never, Ever Give Up. Arthur’s Inspirational Transformation! and DDPY Rebuild: We Can Rebuild You Documentary Short.  This is a workout you can do!  There is not any equipment needed; you can do DDPY anywhere.  I’ve done it at home, my back patio, hotel rooms, the beach and at the lake. 

I also believe runners can benefit from DDP Yoga.  The benefits of increasing core strength will improve your posture, reducing possible injuries while making you a stronger runner.  It’s also a great post-run recovery method.  In fact, I love hitting up the DDP Yoga before and after a run.  My calves an hamstrings were very tight from years of running before loosening them up with the program.  It compliments running very well.

I’ve found very few people familiar with DDP Yoga when I’ve talked about the program with co-workers, friends and acquaintances.  This is a powerful workout that I’ve become passionate about as my results have progressed.  I believe more people could take advantage of the program but are unaware or perhaps too nervous to try.  I want to continue to share my experience with the program, so I have decided to begin training to become a DDP Yoga Instructor.  I am using this isolation free time to get started and hope to complete the process within the next 6 months.  More to come…

Go get it!