Twist, Bend, Recover
How my body loves radically and protectively
Dearest Readers and Subscribers,
It’s been more than a minute—seven to eight weeks—since I last wrote here. Not good publishing practice, Coke, but mostly it’s made me sad.
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They call them The Twisties.
So many hearts and eyes were on Simone Biles at the Paris Olympic Games this summer, particularly as she prepared for her vault event.
Four years ago, Simone withdrew from what remained of her 2020 Olympics competition because she lost her bearings mid-air while attempting a treacherous vault. This is super dangerous, even life-threatening for a gymnast. ABC News describes, "The twisties is a dangerous phenomenon that gymnasts experience in which they lose their perception of their body while in the air . . .” And one medical resource I trust, the Cleveland Clinic, states, “The brain and body are no longer communicating efficiently . . .”
As replays from 2020 were broadcast and commentators commented, I found myself reflecting. First, Simone’s body radically protected her, even though on t…