Archive for the ‘Yoga and Stroke’ Category

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

The garden is a mass of weeds. I suspended voice lessons until fall. Cookouts came and went while I sat at the computer. What was I doing all summer? Writing a book. Really. And, it’s about to be published.

A plethora of yoga books line my shelves and topple from stacks on my desk. I enjoy them all, some more than others. But each is peppered with bookmarks noting sections that speak to me. Some highlight interesting poses. Others are there for easy access to a phrase that touches on bringing daily practice from the mat into my day.

None, however, fully address yoga and Parkinson’s. There’s mention here and there in some of the texts, and there are books that connect exercise to the disease. But when I couldn’t find one that dedicated itself to living your yoga while living with Parkinson’s, I decided to dedicate myself to writing it.

The manuscript is at the publisher. And the book, Yoga for Movement Disorders: Rebuilding Strength, Flexibility and Balance for Parkinson’s Disease and Dystonia, is due out at the end of October.

I have time now to tend to the flower beds and make it to a picnic or two. But, as summer ebbs into that magical place between Labor Day and autumn, when the air is clean and the trees begin their wardrobe change, I can hope that my addition to the library of yoga books carries a bookmark or two by someone who finds certain passages helpful.
Yoga for Movement Disorders and Parkinson's

Sense and Sensitivity

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

I’ve heard it called emotional incontinence, crying at commercials, greeting cards, the mention of crying. This inhibition of the tear ducts often accompanies a head injury, as if there isn’t enough to weep about after trauma causes brain waves to misfire.

Long before my AVM burst into my gray matter, I reached for the tissue box. When I was young, Charlotte’s Web set me off. Actually, it still does. Then there was the fire station siren. How I hoped, each time it rang out, that there was a neighborhood cat stuck in a tree not a neighbor’s house in flames. I prefer to think of my responses as, not weepy, but sensitive.

(more…)

Brahmacharya

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

LIM (Less Is More) Yoga embraces the old adage, everything in moderation, which is the definition of fourth yama. And the antithesis of spin class.

Feel the burn, Push it, Ride it out. Good mottos for building up stamina in the saddle and sweating from every pore. Phrases in a gentle yoga class are more like: Notice how it feels, Don’t push too hard, Take a resting breath.

I was waiting for a spin class to begin at the gym when I overheard two women talking about yoga.

(more…)

Waiting for Tone

Monday, February 4th, 2008

There’s a nearby farm stand that’s open year round. During the winter months, root vegetables, with the occasional greenhouse lettuce, make up the bulk of the local produce. But, it’s worth the snowy trip for the homemade soups and breads.

I’d rounded the corner from the steaming vats of chowders and stews to the bakery aisle when I saw her. Tiny and tottering, she appeared to weigh in at about the same number as her age, somewhere in the nineties. Despite her size, she was blocking access to the bin of fresh rolls. Instead of pushing past her, I waited. And watched. She examined each scone with such focus, holding it close to her glasses, smelling it, smiling, placing it back on the shelf. She was completely absorbed in the yeasty aroma, the texture and weight of each scone. She had no idea I was there.
(more…)