Walk This Way

I saw her coming from half a block away.

She was an older woman, although as I close in on 70, I’m not very comfortable labeling people as elderly.

This lady was walking up 72nd Street this morning, hunched over her shopping cart, which doubled as a walker.

I recently came across the term dowager’s hump on Google — an abnormal outward curve of the upper back, formally known as hyperkyphosis.

This was near the end of my 30 block walk around the neighborhood, my attempt to get some kind of physical activity since my latest back attack is keeping me out of the gym.

The good news is that I’m no longer shrieking every time I make a move, and my sister and I were able to make our yearly pligramge to Coney Island for the fireworks show and a spin on the Spook-A-Rama.

But I still can’t do my cardio-iron pumping routine at Harbor Fitness Go. I’ve always been a gym junkie, so being sick or injured makes me seriously antsy.

But I’m trying to be sane about this. My logical side knows I could make a bad situation much worse if I jump right back into my old routine.

I knew an instructor at New York Sports Clubs who was suffering from severe shoulder pain. Instead of easing up, he kept working out like a fiend and wound up hurting himself so badly he needed surgery. Then he had no choice.

I’d really like to avoid a similar situation.

Dem Bones, Dem Bones

Of course, the timing sucks. The weather is turning colder, and I’d like to go on vacation soon, but I don’t want to commit to a trip and end up writhing in agony in some foreign land.

But then there’s never a good time for sciatica, is there?

I was feeling pretty low until I saw the woman on 72nd Street.

For a moment, I thought about crossing the street so I could stay out of her way, but then I reconsidered.

No, I thought — stay on this side. Get a closer look at somebody who is really suffering.

I wasn’t trying to belittle my own pain but seeing her in that terrible condition helped put things in perspective.

“Do you need help?” I asked as she got closer. “No, thank you,” she said.

I wished her well and continued walking home.

I’m trying to find something good in this experience. Since I can’t work out my body, maybe this is a good time to work on my mind.

Why am I so negative? Why am I so short tempered and unhappy?

I have a whole litany of anger management techniques, but how come I barely deploy them when I blow my stack?

What’s the point of having big biceps when your emotions are tearing you apart?

Maybe I can use this time to look inward and free myself of some these toxic emotions.

It’s a step in the right direction.