Joshua P. Simon - The Accidental Author

Sometimes I feel like an old man. Besides, my issues with Crohn’s disease (which I’ve mentioned before on my blog), I have quite a few nagging injuries that aren’t very visible to those who know me. They include:

- A herniated disk from a weightlifting injury (455 pound box squat plus light bands for resistance) six years ago when I was pushing myself too hard to recover strength after a stomach surgery. Another lesson learned the hard way.

- A left knee that bothers me from time to time which I hurt in college while landing wrong in a game of basketball.

- Ulnar nerve issues on both arms that worsen based on the amount of office work I do.

- Some minor carpal tunnel issues from the same office work. This one isn’t too bad and is mostly dependent on the ulnar nerve issues above.

The back injury is by far the worst as it affects practically everything else. When it is at its worst, I’ll put my body in compromising positions to take pressure off my back which in turn injures something else.

The problem with all these injuries (back especially), is that it prevents me from doing quite a few things I used to love to do. I no longer powerlift as I once did (I do try to lift weights with some regularity and limited exercise selection though). I don’t run or play basketball as often as I would like either.

Needless to say, I’ve found it harder to stay in the shape I would like to be in.

However, I recently discovered DDP Yoga while listening to Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast. The exercise program was created by Diamond Dallas Page, former pro wrestler (I was a big fan of him back in the WCW days).

I didn’t think much of DDP YOGA the first few times it was mentioned. However, I learned that he had started doing yoga after suffering a back injury worse than mine and that the program in many ways was designed for people with a lot of my problems. After a couple weeks of debating, I bought the program.

http://ddpyoga.com/

I’ve been doing this consistently for about a month with my wife, and I have to say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I can see some noticeable changes in the mirror and feel stronger when lifting weights (I still do one full body day a week). Most importantly, my low back pain and my knee pain has decreased.

Yes, I’m drinking the Kool-Aid.

I actually look forward to working out again as I’m thinking more about the things I can try to do next rather than being depressed about all the things I can no longer do or the amount of weight I can no longer lift.

If you struggle with nagging health issues or just with motivation to stick to some sort of program, I suggest you give it a try.

Check out this guy’s inspiring story who couldn’t even walk before he started DDP Yoga.



And this is what DDP once looked like back in his heyday. Definitely one of my favorites and grossly underrated.



Self high five!