I’m still processing that this is really happening but wanted to share that after 2 long years recovering from a severe spinal injury, I have returned to Drag Race Live. I’ll spare everyone the details of the mental/emotional/physical personal hell these 2 years have been but have some thoughts I’d like to share to hopefully spare someone from going through anything close to what I had to go through. -We professional dancers are professional ATHLETES and thus we must train like professional athletes. -Professional dancers are one of, if not the only division of professional athletes that do not have a professional coach with them for their sport. Therefore we must be our own coach. -Weight lifting centered on aesthetics can quickly become dangerous for any athlete if it’s not supplemented with proper performance training for your “sport”. -Proper core strength, core stability, and core endurance is key to protecting your spine and having control of your body and is too often overlooked by isolated ab exercises for that “six pack”. -If you see a doctor for an injury and their solution is pain meds, steroid injections, or anything else focused on masking the pain rather than treating your injury, politely RUN out of their office and never look back. -If surgery is suggested to you for a back injury, I advise you seek multiple opinions on the matter and more importantly do your own research. Too often surgery is a quick fix but doesn’t teach you how or why your injury occurred and how you can prevent it from happening again. -I dream of a day where dance agencies offer free injury prevention classes, resources, etc. to their dancers as so many of us are walking into our professional career with little to no knowledge on this vital matter. Lastly I want to thank Dr. Stuart McGill (@backfitpro) and his books on back disorders, mechanics, fitness & performance for giving me the tools I needed for my recovery and more insight on my injury than all the doctors I’ve seen over the past two years combined. These books are truly an invaluable resource to anyone struggling with lower back pain or back injuries and I encourage anyone interested to read them.