"Back" At It

I almost didn't go to dance last night. I hadn't slept well, I was cranky, and it was pouring. It was an argument with myself but I dragged my wet, sorry ass up the stairs to the dance studio still not entirely convinced that I had made the right decision. There is something almost addictive about the sound of djembes and doundouns.

We started by going over the sofa dance (it's the name of the rhythm of the hunter's dance. Get your minds out of the gutter, you sickos!) before breaking into two groups and and performing for each other. When it was my turn to perform, I gave it my all. The other dancers noticed, the drummers noticed, and I fed off that energy. Even when we reached the end and I just wanted the dance to end but Pete (the lead djembe) decided it would be more awesome to just keep playing but faster, I kept myself going.*

When the song ended, I wandered over to the seated dancers and jokingly collapsed on the floor. As I 'fell', I felt something shift in my back. When I went to get up, I felt it shift further and my back cried out a little. I figured I work the pain out over the next 30 minutes.

No such luck. I couldn't twist in either direction without pain. I excused myself from the dance floor to sit down and stretch. I couldn't sit without pain, I couldn't bend over without pain. In short, I could stand incredibly still and that was about it.

We had a business meeting for Matoto after the dance class and I tried to fix the back pain with the consumption of beer. Dull the pain, all that jazz. Either that's only a myth or I didn't drink enough ;) I would have had a bath with Epsom salts when I got home (how did injured people function before Epsom salts? Seriously, how?) but I haven't cleaned my bath since before Ireland (I'm a shower girl) and there was no way I was bending over to clean it.

I popped a few pain killers, laid down on the heating pad and promptly got "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" stuck in my head. Because that's what everyone wants running through their head when they're in too much pain to get up and put on music: Smashing Pumpkins. Although it did kind of fit with my whole 'I'm pissy and in pain' mood.

While my back is feeling better (and I was finally able to bend over and clean up the hairball in the hall this morning), my level of mobility is still limited. Walking is fine for short distances, but I look like I'm 87 when I try and turn, bend, or sit. Damn, squats are out? Shucks!

Now, I think it's time for another back pain beer!

*In set West African Dance (as opposed to the traditional circle dance), you do the one move (or collection of moves) until the djembe plays the break and you move to the next move. Be nice to your drummers, people. If they hate you, they can keep you stuck in one move for-ev-ah! I was about two moves away from yelling "play the f*cking break" at Pete last night... and we get along!