Movement recovery after spinal cord injury with Theo St. Francis.
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Rhythm

6/21/2015

12 Comments

 
People love rhythm. Quite likely, people need rhythm. The human craving for it is hard-wired into us. Whether one’s environment is the bucolic Wine Country, frenetic New York City, or some rustic and remote corner of a forest or some desert, there are varied and predictable rhythms everywhere, and we depend on them.

We all know the rush of one certain kind of rhythm – the bliss that comes when you become so invested, so ‘lost,’ in an activity that you are no longer thinking, but simply doing.

It is the feeling that allows the marathoner to let her legs carry her body even through the muscle fatigue without the brain being involved; it impels the jazz guitarist to close his eyes and nod his head seemingly randomly as he listens to the licks and trills that his fingers have in mind; it enables the practiced gardener to automatically and unthinkingly find the weeds that must be pulled; it even lets the proactive college student swiftly fold through an entire stack of freshly laundered clothes as he foggily wonders why his head throbs so much on a Sunday morning, and allows the tax consultant to, well, hmm, do whatever a tax consultant finds rhythmic, I guess...

Anyway, some call it ‘tapping into the flow,’ and others say ‘becoming one with the task.’ The metronome of this rhythm, the thing that sets the pace, can be the sound of an evenly paced stride hitting the gravel, or the familiar *snap* as the last of the weed’s roots lets go of the ground. Intense breathing is crucial, as well, whether it comes from the muscles’ burning of oxygen, or from the nervousness and racing heartbeat that come with performing.

Most important to the pulse of these experiences in my mind, however, are the contractions and relaxations of the muscles themselves. The tempo one feels during any one of these in-the-zone moments can be set by sounds, tactile sensations, visual cues, or whatever, but the manner by which the body-brain unit records and remembers the rhythm of the experience is through the repeated and complex interactions between the brain and the muscles. The brain sends movement commands, and in return receives information about where the body is in space, and what it feels. This deep interplay is central to the establishment of memories and emotions around the experience itself.

Okay, let's pause a moment here…why am I discussing rhythm? I’m trying to discover and describe one of the ways our brains make meaning from the experiences of our bodies.

Why is this relevant to me, and why now?

In searching for the basic reasons that I don’t feel the same as I used to, I have slowly come to understand that rhythm, and the lack thereof, is a key element.

Before heading off to college, I had many chances each day and week to find that “flow,”  where doing takes over from thinking – during swimming practices, once or twice each day; pumping away in the bike saddle or clinging to a rock wall; laying filo with friends for a spanakopita; at the wheel, driving my carpool mates; or, very simply, waking up 30 minutes later than expected and having the panic of being late guide me, without my having time to think, to grab whatever I needed for the day before dashing out the door. Those actions are automatic, they’re not over-thought or, really, even ‘thought’ at all. 

I do things necessarily more slowly now, and always with intention. This is sometimes a great way to go, because we all know everyone rushes too much, but we also just explored, above, how valuable it can be to go on ‘automatic’ with an activity, to commit less conscious attention and allow the body to take over, doing what it knows how to do from practice and untold repetition. That, it seems, requires a strong connection to muscles so they can learn and execute the movement – that connection is what I am working on, all day, every day, but there has to be a way to find that rhythm with a bit less connection...

Enter here the sport, and pure movement, of swimming.

It’s nothing like it used to be for me, but that does not mean it is ‘nothing’ itself. It’s actually quite something: there’s the freedom of moving without the effect of gravity, the tactile stimulation of water, the weightlessness of not sitting, the fact that I can get an intense cardio-workout, which is difficult to attain given how many fewer muscles are demanding oxygen like they once did.

I cannot properly articulate how incredibly frustrating it still is for me to struggle through my strokes, to have the ecstasy of their movements still so hard to achieve. But, I have had to work quite consciously to get over that, because I recognize how beneficial being in the water still is, particularly when it may be the best way for me to find rhythm.

My recent adoption of open-water swimming has been terrific because I am able to swim, without interruption, for a half-mile or more before I need to turn around. I can just GO, without care for walls or lane-lines or cannon-balling little tykes. After some time, I settle into a rhythm where my arms continue the motion, but I am no longer required to tell them what to do. Just as one begins a meditation by focusing on the automatic, regular pacing of breathing, so too can I focus on the automatic, regular pacing of the movements of my arms – simultaneously exhausting and calming, a state to which I have not had access while doing anything else.

Combine that with the RACE environments over the last two weekends and I am beginning to retrace a path toward the rapture of rhythm once again.


Happy Father’s Day to all dads! May we express the appreciation today that he deserves on all days. I know I am incredibly lucky to have a dad who works tirelessly behind-the-scenes, supporting me so that I can commit myself fully to recovery. Thank you, Dad.

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A beautiful day at Lake Del Valle for the 2.5km race, which took me 68 minutes. As I was doing backstroke and could not easily see where I needed to turn, Kathy directed me around the buoys.
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Standing, with Peter's assistance, at the finish.
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Our new best friend, Andrew, who helped lift me from the water.
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An amazing group of teammates and supporters from North Bay Aquatics!
12 Comments
Marina Korman
6/21/2015 03:34:04 am

Looks so awesome! Do you have any video of you swimming? Nothing like being in the water. When's the next one?!

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James Bogin
6/21/2015 03:43:51 am

It gets more and more amazing. I hope you are able to continue to push the envelope further and further, this kind of progress must be off the charts, except maybe for people who work 24/7 for 2 years...Good luck out there

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Nancy Kirwan
6/21/2015 03:57:38 am

Self propelled forward/backward motion without mechanical support and a returning to an intensely familiar milieu all appear to combine to give you great and well deserved pleasure.

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Emmy Leitzell
6/21/2015 08:20:53 am

Theo I love reading your posts and am so glad you are swimming again! Congrats on the amazing progress.

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Brianna Lehane
6/21/2015 03:09:38 pm

Awesome. As a rower, I understand how important rhythm is-- it may be one of the most essential components to the sport. Once it's found, the musical sound of the synchronized clicking of the oar locks and blades entering the water sends a rush through the rowers that reminds us each why we were in the boat to begin with; at the same time, it is also the point where we stop focusing on setting the boat and instead focus our energy into propelling it forward, which is where the race becomes the most strenuous... I can see how finding that moment during your race where your strokes are rhythmic and almost comfortable was exciting, because you could then focus your efforts on racing, not form. An encouraging and uplifting post. Way to go!

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Theo
7/1/2015 02:03:39 pm

Brianna, very potent reflection, and spot on! 'Efforts on racing, not form,' and your comment on the rush coming from the music of the oar-water interaction, are both very similar to what I experience racing – and as you know, there's nothing else quite like it.

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Lisa Byrne
6/22/2015 05:30:42 am

Energizing to read about the importance of having a regular rhythm and the enjoyment you're getting from open water swimming. Good to see photo of you with the NBA 'family' too.

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Kyle Kirwan
6/22/2015 06:23:44 am

Theo: It is amazing that you are starting to settle into a new stroke with a definite rhythm. That must be huge progress on your path to recovery. Keep it up. Kyle

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Arash B
6/22/2015 01:16:31 pm

Stoked you're getting back out there and swimming Theo. I'm sure despite the frustration it must feel nice to be able to experience a version of something that was so dear to you for so long. Keep it up! -AB

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Leslie
6/23/2015 10:48:36 pm

Theo you have rhythm for sure! Very inspirational and shared this insight with Greg!

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Wendy
6/23/2015 11:43:13 pm

Theo, you did it again! Wonderful to see you swimming and hearing about it. What a teacher you are for us...enhancing our concepts of our lives.

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Theo
7/1/2015 01:59:55 pm

I appreciate the cheers – it is true that this has really added some depth to my routine, in that my therapy experiences themselves are more varied in the feedback they give my body. All part of the recovery mosaic.

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