I have gotten a common question when it comes to going on the camino de santiago. “What was my spiritual experience?” Any “awakenings” while walking the camino? It definitely wasn’t what i thought it was going to be. Yes there were tears and some deep dives. For me it was the relationship with my body. I’ve struggled with my weight since high school. Then in 2021 I got bulging disk. When you have an injury, struggle with you weight, and even as we age we can feel like our body is betraying us. And I felt like that on the trail.

With an pulled muscle because of the cobblestone, and then the swelling from the allergic reaction to my socks I was in a lot of pain. Plus since january I had extreme heel pain after resting then walking. I am a slow walker and old people were passing me. I was struggling. My cousin was amazed we could walk 15 or more miles in a day. I expected my body to thrive in the challenge. I feed it expensive organic food, get massages, and it was betraying me. Then I thought about all the situations where I felt betrayed. Just a couple years before with my back.

Then I had a realization that my mind, body, and soul are on a team together. If anything there were times I betrayed my body. Not listening to my body when it was telling me I needed rest. Eating foods that made it feel icky. Even now as I look back on pictures from before my injury I noticed how much weight I have gained from not being able to bike or do yoga. But I am at peace with my body. Even when I struggle, I listen when it needs rest. Even today I noticed I sore during yoga and decided to not lift weights after. I still have the goal of getting back to that weight. However it is a huge win to not feel betrayed body. My body feels like a huge emotional weight lifted off my shoulder. And that feels even better that physical weight loss!

An update on my injury is back in 2021 I first noticed my back issue. I could not sit for a month which meant no driving.

It took until 2022 to get diagnosed and once I was took precautions and did exercises, it could finally heal.

In 2023 my back felt better and the feeling in my lower left leg returned but that led to very bad heel pain. Anytime I went from resting it took 15 minutes for the pain to subside. I could not walk barefoot which I love. Also my back still didn’t like biking more that 25 miles.

Now in 2024 the heel pain is 90% better and I can walk barefoot again! I am hoping with some adjustments I can put more miles on the bike. I rejoice in my body’s ability to heel. I also started to explore what emotionals triggers might have led to my back injuries.