October 3, 2011
Yoga, the violin, Fred Flintstone and PD, all in my guest blog at the American Parkinson Disease Association/Massachusetts Chapter site: http://www.apdama.org/site2.0/blog.php
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- A Pose to Ponder
- A Pose to Ponder
- ADA regulations
- APDA service dog
- apda servive dog
- Art and Parkinson's
- cancer and yoga
- dance Parkinson's
- dystonia
- gentle yoga cancer
- gratitude
- haiku and yoga
- Living with Parkinson's
- living with parkinsons
- meditation and parkinson's
- meds on and off
- movement disorders
- Parkinson's research
- Parkinsons and service dogs
- parkinsons and yoga
- poetry and yoga
- Service Dog
- service dog access
- service dog and coronavirus
- service dog and yoga
- service dog haiku
- service dog on airplane
- Service dog training
- service dog travel
- service dog vacation
- teacher training
- Team Fox
- Uncategorized
- World ParkinsonCongress
- Yoga
- yoga and cancer
- yoga and parkinsons
- Yoga and Stroke
- yoga for cancer
- yoga for cancer
- yoga for kids
- yoga pose modifications
- yoga teacher training
October 16, 2011
I stepped in to Lakshmi Voelker’s Chair Yoga teacher training class and Thanksgiving came to mind. A specific Thanksgiving, one I shared with a long-lost cousin. Both happened at a similar time of year, when New England shifts from the colors of a sunset to the threat of frost. Both involved months of emails and phone conversations before deciding to get together. The only real difference was the pie. My cousin and I reconnected in the late ’90s, reviving our long-distance friendship from childhood. We hadn’t seen one another in twenty-five years and were overdue for a visit. Since her Florida autumn remained balmy, we opted for a Southern Thanksgiving. I boarded a plane in flip-flops, my carry-on item a still-warm apple pie. Wedged into the middle seat, up in the air somewhere between home and this unknown place, the ease of our past conversations led to trepidation. What if […]
October 20, 2011
Mimicry represents a form of flattery, or so I’ve heard. When I discover my writings cut and pasted into other yoga web sites, ‘flattered’ isn’t how I feel. Irritated, yes. Annoyed that pieces — sometimes verbatim, sometimes slightly reworded — appear out of context and with no reference to the resources in the original. It delights me to share the benefits that yoga brings to others, like me, with movement disorders. I’m honored to work with fellow teachers so they can best meet the needs specific to our ways of moving. When the word is grabbed rather than shared, though, my heart sinks a little. Its from being disappointed because the benefits of yoga for Parkinson’s seem secondary to benefitting one’s own studio, web site, class offerings. But, on last check, the yamas – our yogic ways of being – do not list flattery, irritation, annoyance or disappointment among them. […]
October 31, 2011
At the Young Onset Parkinson’s Northeast Conference, I did something I hadn’t done in a long time. Years. Decades. I danced. After my childhood stroke, with literally half a leg to stand on, I crossed Dancer off my list of possible careers, hobbies and even casual past-times. But that didn’t keep me off stage in high school. Tall and not-so-graceful, the musical director cast me as an Amazon in “The King & I.” In my role, I stood cross-armed and at attention, guarding the entryway in each scene involving the king. Though I appeared more often than the wives — perhaps more often than Anna — in my role, I spoke no lines and certainly did not dance. I ventured onto the dance floor in college and at weddings. Two-stepping, waltzing, or lining up to do the Macarena called for so much concentration to get the footing right, to stay […]
November 4, 2011
It could be said that haiku is the yoga of poetry. The art of this traditionally seventeen-syllable piece rests in words that flow into a focused, present, meditative form. The beauty of yoga lies in the mind-body that flow into a focused, present, meditative form. I like to read poetry in yoga class, weaving the heart of the quotation or stanza through our asana practice. Today in class, we created our own words to move by. At the start of class, we took turns around the circle. Each of us listed one word that, to us, represents yoga. We moved through the warm-ups and poses, the adjectives and verbs in the air around us. Following savasana, they were turned into pure poetry: Council on Aging Yoga Class Haiku #1: Fun concentration focuses on opening, stretching attitude Council on Aging Yoga Class Haiku #2: Relax into peace, movement brings serenity pleasure, […]
November 30, 2011
A beautiful yoga studio sign! It stands, however, on the brick sidewalk outside the door of local clothing boutique. The bottom of it offers holiday gift cards for the shop. The sign struck me more, though, for the true gift it offers during this rushed holiday season: Breathe. Be present. Enjoy. Perhaps we all need a joyous reminder to keep from getting caught up in the next several weeks of To Dos and To Buys. As a person with PD, the sign’s living and being approach helps reduce the stresses that come with this time of year, stresses that can exacerbate my symptoms. It’s a yogic reminder that brings me back into the moment and out of past and future worries. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, may many eyes rest on this sign. Enjoy the beauty, moment to moment.
December 5, 2011
Dear Yoga Teachers, If he or she hasn’t already, someone with Parkinson’s will attend your class. Or it may be someone recovering from a stroke. Or living with MS. Not only are there more and more yoga students living with a movement disorder, the number under the age of 60 with these diagnoses is increasing. And this growing population is turning to yoga. Ahimsa leads us to approach with compassion, which, considering the yoga teachers I’ve met over the years, is a given. Satya and asteya also influence that approach. With satya in mind, its truth dictates that meeting the special needs of a student with a movement disorder requires more than compassion. Considering asteya, we’d be stealing from our students’ time and effort if we didn’t try to meet those special needs with specialized training. Please consider learning more about strategies for managing rigidity, tremor, dystonia and balance and safety […]
December 19, 2011
The holiday season brings together unlikely pairings: red and green, giving and receiving, Parkinson’s and beauty. Yes, beauty. Although it seems improbable, Parkinson’s has not simply taken but has added beauty to my days. One of the forms of that beauty manifests in the music of Greg Rice. Greg is a composer. He is also a father, businessman, active community volunteer and a person living with Parkinson’s. A law degree plus years of working in the corporate world added to a PD diagnosis wouldn’t typically total up to Musician. But Greg’s symphonies represent the sum of these aspects of him. The music – varied and original – surprises and delights. Performed by various city symphony orchestras, the sound is sometimes grand and sweeping, sometimes a simple dance. Each a pleasure. I play his music in my yoga classes. I play it in my car. I play it to fill the […]
January 11, 2012
Despite the challenges that accompany travel when living with Parkinson’s, I still enjoy it. Visiting new places or old friends outweighs the excess baggage that goes with going away. Wacky schedules throw off my meds cycle. My slow-mo body becomes an obstacle that others slalom around. A tremor appears (not typically among my list of symptoms). Worth it, worth it, worth it because the adventure’s good evens out the not-so-good. Except for one hassle that throws off this balancing act: the airline fee for checking rather than carrying on my bag. For most of the travel stressors, yoga brings some relief. I can ease back down from the security line’s rush of disrobing and shoe removal (which we know is a lengthy process with PD) and although I’m crammed into a seat that restricts my movement, I manage to stretch a bit. While waiting at the gate, I find a […]
January 22, 2012
My class calls this the Chaise Lounge Pose. Fully supported, students relax into it, allowing tension to release. They say that the only thing missing is a drink holder. When to Practice the Pose Supta baddha konasana, or reclined bound angle pose, ranks high on their list for savasana. Mine, too. It’s also my top pick for a mid-day break. For five to ten minutes, I lie in repose with props tucked under my head, torso, legs and arms Benefits of the Pose What’s not to like? Gravity does the work loosening what the Parkinson’s squeezes tight. A restful, passive expansion across the chest opens my heart while flexing the vertebrae behind it. The curve in my lumbar spine relaxes on the bolster and the rubber-band muscles of my inner thighs lengthen without effort. These shifts help my posture, gait and sleep. Yum. There’s also a surprise bonus: Facial muscles […]