5/4
What is it, about reading books? What is it about writing? I feel as though everything that I am learning, I am also able to consolidate in my brain so much better these days with the tool that writing is. Without it, I feel like I would be floundering with all the information floating around my head. It’s definitely an interesting time because I know I have grown so accustomed to writing, that if I take time away from it, I slow down and realize how much it helps me keep everything on track! Also, I can tell how I need different positions to sit and relax in! The wheelchair isn’t a great place for relaxing, reading, and writing.
I am noticing some super significant sensations in my upper thighs! Each day, I feel the outline of my legs filling in, and patch by patch, day by day they truly are, slowly but surely, filling in! It’s really fascinating stuff, to be honest. I know how easy it is to get down on my current situation, but when I slow down, check my progress, it really helps me keep and maintain perspective. And you know what it is? that’s it! “Maintaining Perspective”. This helps me keep up my discipline to keep going. I don’t think I ever quite thought of it like that, but I really like that. It’s short and sweet and truly what I am doing, to help keep myself going!
What was really cool, was how I am able to individually contract most all the muscles in my legs! I’m laying down, and even if it’s just a small palpable contraction, I can feel myself actually squeezing these muscles! Before I got up, I laid in bed with my eyes closed, and slowly attempted to voluntarily contract for 5 seconds, and relax for 5 seconds. I can feel how after I squeeze the muscles, it’s almost like they don’t want to shut off. So if I continue this progression of pairing with my breath, contract, and relax, they gotta get better at this! Right? Let’s see how this goes!
I’m just shocked, at how much sensation increase there has been with some of this new compression wear! My legs are feeling tremendous, and engagement is through the roof! Even on a day that I’m completely whooped, and completely wiped out! It’s pretty astounding. I’m really pleased with the progress in my hips, upper and lower glutes, upper thighs, and quads! This was really interesting!
5/5
Wow, seriously such a great start to the day in terms of sensation and activation! I’m really happy with all the feels this morning! Let’s make sure my legs show up and are ready for PT today! Just need to make sure I get in the standing frame today to get everything moving and lengthened!!
5/6
Doing some calisthenics on the floor today! I have to start out with movements on my knees, but I can feel my lower legs firing up as well!! I think this is a great start to something really interesting for my body! Let’s see how this goes!? I’m incorporating new movements into my floor routine, and I’m really liking how things are going!
My body right now is exhausted, I’m feeling so tired from the events from this entire day, and I know I’m gonna sleep good!
Pelvic floor therapy is interesting! You have to view your trunk as a can of oatmeal. Not too firm, but not too soft. It has a little give. It also moves as a singular unit, with the diaphragm being the lid, and the pelvic floor being the bottom. The sides are our transverse abdominis, and obliques.
Floor work! calisthenics, and moving and rotating my body in ways I don’t typically! This has got my body feeling so good! I cannot believe it! I really need to open up my left oblique area!
So in physics and psychology, Werner is talking about how the link between chemistry and physics 100yrs ago is alot like the link between physics and biology today (that is, in 1959 when the book was written). It was really interesting to read how the differences in the fundamentals of life, really did not have an analogous form in physics, I will have to review my notes, but I wonder if that has changed at this point in time? I’ll have to do some research, but my guess is that it hasn’t. The closest area I think that could be starting to find a bridge is neuroscience and physics, and possibly brain neural rhythms? I’m most fascinated with these ideas, and I really think there’s something to this! More research needs to be done! I wonder what can come of this connection?
5/7
So, this has been most interesting! Trying to release my diaphragm to help my pelvic floor! I am noticing so much difference in that area this morning! Also, my legs are feeling so much fuller as I wake up! My thighs really are filling in! My lower legs, ankles, feet and toes too! It’s pretty remarkable! I’m needing to keep getting more upright, and more use out of my legs!
Right now I’m still thinking about how infants go from cruising to standing, and yesterday I did a really good set on the floor, and I think these isometric exercises, even the pushups I did on the floor, are really helping wake up my quads! They feel so interesting right now!
What part of my legs do I need to wake up more? I’ve been feeling how my low back, glutes, under glutes where they connect with the hamstrings, quads, are all waking up!! I need them to continue to progress and my hamstrings to continue to stay relaxed! I’ve noticed how important it is to free up the tight muscles, to allow for more functional range. Being able to breathe better has been such a help with this! Letting my muscles know they are “safe” and they can go into these positions!
I better try to keep up and moving! So much to do as usual, so it will make sense to get things going today! One day at a time. Just be slow and steady and give yourself some patience.
Hmm, plate swinging for quad strength??? What all is it you want to progress towards in PT for intermediate goals? I really think it’s advancing towards walking from a crawling progression. I think this could be most interesting!?
Wow, I’m shook with how busy today was. At PT today, I tried to do some wild stuff in the parallel bars, and while I was doing some pull ups. Speaking of which, I haven’t tried to do any with my legs off the ground up until this point. I was surprised with how wild this was. I really didn’t know how my legs were gonna respond! But I did it anyways because they have to start somewhere! I have a really good feeling about these calisthenics movements! I can feel my legs activating and engaging in ways I haven’t felt up to this point. and it’s feeling wild. My quads, hip flexors, hamstrings, calves, ankles, are all trying to work! I know that this is doing something, I just need to be consistent!!
Now I need to get some rest, I gotta be up at 4:50 tomorrow! Here we go!
5/8
Wow. So. Today, I got up at 4:40, right before the alarm today. I picked up Angel, and headed in to the LERF for the concrete pour! I was really excited for this one! We had quite the special guest, and I was really happy to help get this event all coordinated!
Had an appointment with the neurosurgeon today. Turns out I have had 10 appointments this week. As in 10 obligations with a set time, outside of my regular working hours. That’s been a heavy amount of appointments this week, and my body and mind are running on Empty. This has been such an exhausting week. Oof, it really takes a lot to keep my body alive, well, and in motion. I guess, this is what it takes, and I need to keep and chugging along.
So when I was talking to my neurosurgeon, I had asked him a multitude of questions, and he reported back after my X-rays that my spine is healing well, and there is no degeneration above and below the rods. It actually shook me up a bit when we were talking, and he had said that my rib cage was separated just over an inch from my spine. That’s an insane distance in our body. It was also a tough one to swallow when he said that the reason that some vertebrae don’t have screws, is because there was no material left to screw into. There were probably 4 vertebrae like this, and it was so difficult to hear. I barely had enough to screw back together, or none at all.
5/9
I took some time this morning to talk through some of my items I need to focus on in my head. I was so tired last night, I fell asleep shortly after I laid down in bed. It was crazy!
Continuing my strength, calisthenics, movement, useful strategy I think will help so much! I need to help keep my mind focused, because these busy weeks it’s so easy for me to get distracted and loose my focus.
I’m, well. I’m tired. I’m not in a great mood. I’m done for the day at work, and it feels like I’m regressing. Feels like I’m slipping back. Feels like I’m falling, out of the place I previously was. Ugh. Sigh. I, need to see what I can do to get my mind out of this funk. I guess, I see the sun shining, and it makes me really sad to be cooped up inside, without Max, unable to roam the way that him and I would and should be able to. There is literally so much going on. This whole “10 appointment” week has really been such a “great time”. I seriously just look outside and want to be able to enjoy the sunshine so much. But it’s so hard. It’s so hard to move around, and it’s so hard to have to be in this chair. I want to be able to do so much. And I guess, I have been doing so much more than first after my accident. But, when is it ever enough? When do we have enough in our lives? I’m just having a hard time not just breaking down and losing it. Sunny days should make you happy. Well, turns out, they seem to do the complete opposite for me these days. They are days that remind me of what I lost. I can hear this part of me going, “but what did you gain?” And I have a really hard time wanting to even humor those thoughts right now. It’s like, so odd to me. It’s so odd that I even have to entertain any of these thoughts. On both sides. I close my eyes and all I can see is the version of myself up on my feet. When I’m at work, though, it seems and feels so distant. All the “looks” that I get. All these stares. People not knowing how to respond or what to do. Treating me so different. I definitely did gain something. Or someone. Callie has been the most monumental person I have ever met in my entire life. She’s been absolutely amazing, and works harder than most people even think of. She’s been my rock, and I love her so much. I just really don’t know where I’d be without her.
I don’t know. I’m just feeling the tight spot in my abdomen constantly and rhythmically spasm and tighten up every 4-5 seconds. It drives me wild. Why won’t they just relax? Why won’t they listen? I get that they have to heal up, and need time to do that, but why does this happen?
Made it to South Shore! Went out with John and Angel! Had a nice afternoon and got a brat with them!
Played some games with Angel! I fell asleep! I was absolutely exhausted from all this week!!
5/10
Now, to continue, how can I incorporate exercises throughout my day to get me a little more each day towards standing? I need these small little gains, the movements to last. Not just 1hr PT sessions?
“Every movement is a Rep”
Why are my hamstrings overpowering everything? How to mitigate this since I’m seated so often? I think I may have some ideas?
So I just noticed something interesting, I was laying in the bed and I was doing some Glute and quad squeezes to get my legs out straight and they’re really were. I feel like when I was laying flat supine I haven’t gotten her legs that straight so then Callie came in and she goes, “pull your knee to your chest!” And I had given that a go, but I knew that I would need help facilitating that motion. It was really interesting because. What was happening was it felt like the signals to my glutes and my quads were still sent but they wouldn’t really shut off. And so when I tried to pull my knees to chest, they wouldn’t fully do that. It is really an interesting observation because I can feel how it is from my deep core my body wants to produce motion sometimes and needs a little help and sometimes it doesn’t.
I was doing these glute pulse squeezes, and I can really feel them making a difference! Now, the question is, can I do multiple sets (10-50plus) throughout the day? Also how does this help doing this in the lengthened position? Also, how do infants strengthen their glutes? Maybe more to explore?
So I’m thinking about this slow and steady gains, and I had a realization of two unlikely connections!
YES—this is the exact same phenomenon happening in two totally different fields.
In chess, people rush to win games.
In SCI recovery, people rush to walk again.
And in both cases, they often build bad foundational habits that cap their long-term potential—or worse, lead to regression.
⸻
Why Most People Struggle in SCI Recovery:
• They prioritize “walking” over walking well.
• They compensate with bad mechanics (hip hiking, circumduction, poor core control), reinforcing inefficient patterns.
• They don’t stay in the “foundation phase” long enough.
• Standing, tall kneeling, proper weight shifting—these are the “endgame studies” of recovery, but they’re skipped for the flashy stuff.
• They treat PT sessions as the main work, rather than the test.
• Just like in chess, the real work happens alone, building neural patterns through consistent, focused practice.
⸻
The Magnus Method Applied to SCI Recovery:
• Master the Fundamentals Before Progressing:
• Focus on postural alignment, core-led movements, scapular control, and proper pelvic positioning before chasing big milestones.
• Repetition of Proper Patterns:
• Just like replaying famous chess games, you repeat correct movement patterns, even if they feel small or boring.
• Visualization and mental imagery here are like reviewing chess games—critical to rewiring the system!
• Play “Slow Games” Before “Fast Ones”:
• Think:
• Slow = Controlled floor work, glute activation, tall kneeling, weight shifts.
• Fast = Walking attempts, higher-intensity therapy work.
• Master control before adding complexity or speed.
⸻
And Yes, Most People Give Up Too Soon.
• They chase quick wins and feel defeated when they don’t happen.
• But those who build patiently? They experience breakthrough moments that feel sudden—but only because they put in the foundational work no one else wanted to do.
⸻
3. Recovery Review
• Journal:
• What improved this week?
• What patterns broke down under fatigue?
• Did any emotional resistance or breakthroughs appear?
• Celebrate one small win—just like recognizing that one good move in a chess game.
Key Rules of the Magnus Method Recovery Plan:
• Slow is smooth. Smooth becomes fast.
• One perfect rep is better than 10 sloppy ones.
• Review and reflection are non-negotiable.
• Never sacrifice long-term function for short-term ego wins.
So, I like how this list goes, and I think this all can help. It’s been a monstrous week, in terms of activity this week! I can’t believe I made it out on the other side! I will need to keep moving, slow and steady. That’s what I need! I’m really glad to have done as much as I have, and I can feel my body making changes from all of it! More on this later and time to get some rest!
The Astronaut on Earth 
Leave a comment