Uncategorized Archives - Page 2 of 2

August 28, 2011

Modifying Child’s Pose

One of the more restful of yoga positions, Balasana, or Child’s Pose, taps into an inner peacefulness. In Balasana, the spine elongates and the shoulder blades broaden, sending messages throughout the nervous system that relay an overall calming. I can recall a great number of times checking on my son when he was younger. There in his crib, he epitomized child’s pose. With bent knees supporting his upper body, his tailbone touched down between both heels, an arm stretched along each side, and he breathed that full, rhythmic breath of a sleeping child. Someone with a movement disorder, however, may find this position not only challenging but counter productive. Bent knees can trigger involuntary dorsal flexion in the feet for someone recovering from a stroke. Pressure on the feet of a person living with Parkinson’s or dystonia can result in painful cramping in the toes or plantar area. That said, those […]

September 22, 2011

PD Attitude of Gratitude

My gratitude list continues: Autumn leaves: Especially the feisty ones, rimmed in crimson and yellow but holding onto veins of green. They display their nature – our nature – to resist change at the same time surrendering to it. NEPD Ride Volunteers: The New England PD Ride in support of the MJF Foundation proved to be a smooth 50 miles for Team Mama. The route was lined with good cheer, good food, great attitudes. The teams of volunteers providing much heart and help to the Team Fox riders and were probably responsible for the pristine weather. All in all, a delightful day of riding for a cure. Thank you. Elementary School Friends: As my son begins fourth grade, I recall a few friendships solidifying when I walked the halls of St. Christopher’s. I have the priveledge of gathering with two of the dearest of those friends for a whole […]

September 23, 2012

Traveling Companion

I attended my grade school reunion last night. Interesting how this get-together reminiscing about old times marks a new time for me: This is my last unaccompanied trip. It ends up that, but for visiting with two dear friends — my best-of-best pals all through those years of wandering the instututional-green hallways — the event paled. On the plus side, the void gave me room to continue the thought chain that started linking together back at the start of my trip: How would my service dog fit into this travel scene? To the Airport: As I boarded the bus, a comfortable and convenient means to the airport, I determined that we’d need to climb the steps up single-file. Hmmm, who goes first? If I do, I can select a seat, but I can’t watch that he’s with me and not scarfing muffins from people’s laps. No, he goes first and I need to […]

March 29, 2013

Take Care

I interrupt the regularly scheduled Travels with Tommy trip update with a view from the morning: Out on the still chilly deck, I watch the predawn sky transform from gray to opalescent pink. Red-winged blackbirds begin to trill and robins sing out their early greetings. The sound that drew me out here, however, was not that of spring but of the unmistakable heaving of a dog about to vomit. The sight interrupting this pastel scene is of a neon yellow streak of bile across the deck. It’s the color of a highlighter, the shape of a slash underlining something important. Among the bits I’m learning about life with a Dane is that this gentle giant has a giant stomach. If it goes too long without food – as long as from dinner to breakfast, sometimes – it gets upset. I suspect it is akin to the churning that can happen […]

October 20, 2014

An Open Letter to the Chambers of Commerce

An Open Letter to the Chambers of Commerce of Villages, Towns and Cities throughout the U.S. Please Help Empower Your Member Businesses Regarding Service Dog Access When You Can Say No to Fido In “Pets Allowed” (New Yorker, October 20 issue), retail management, staff and security personnel throughout Manhattan and Boston permitted “emotional support” animals ranging from a turtle to a snake to a turkey into their establishments. “There’s nothing we can do about it,” says a restaurant worker in NYC. “We have to let them in.” No, you don’t. Whether you run an inn, B&B, cafe, boutique, museum, theater, work for the airlines or manage a bait store, you do not need to open your doors to every Flufffy or pet iguana sporting a vest. Know the Law What you and your staff do need to do is know the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While the law is […]

May 22, 2015

The Gifts of the Not-So-Little Old Farm Lady

Once upon a time there lived a little old farm lady who dressed in purple, cursed at her computer, and rarely refused a Klondike bar. Not really so little or so old, she was a grandmother many times over. If an apple pie set cooling on her windowsill, a volunteer had baked it. If a rocking chair decorated a corner of the farm, there was no little old lady knitting there. Not really grandmotherly, she preferred cooking up ideas and knotting monkey fists from the cab of a front loader (which she’d have used to heave the creaky rocking chair out of her way). One day, the grandmother-farm-lady who dressed in purple cursed at the grandchildren’s parents for not writing to her. True, the not really grandmotherly farm lady didn’t dole out kisses and cookies and boo-boo band-aids like other grandmothers. Instead, Carlene replaced immobility with mobility, fear-of-falling with confident […]

March 11, 2020

FDGB

While at a local health fair recently, (held before virus warnings of not to convene in large groups with others), I sat at an exhibitor table with my yoga colleagues. Some of the attendees stopped to say, Hi, talk about yoga and comment on the giant dog beside me. Others took part in Tai chi lessons, worked on movement with various exhibitors and commented on the giant dog beside me. Said giant dog did very well refraining from approaching any of the attendees who spoke to him or reached out a hand. It’s the skill we’ve been working on the most lately. Having an uber-friendly dog is by far not the worst problem to have in these days of so many issues. However, when that dog is a balance service dog, it’s essential he moves only on my command because if he lurches forward for a friendly pet, I FDGB. […]

June 11, 2020

Rally for a Service Dog

Sheltering and social distancing have taken a toll on my service dog and me. Steering clear of public places has weakened our being out in public places skills. Still, as businesses begin to open up, I need to rally myself to get back out into the community. On the plus side, Bryce has become stellar at assisting me throughout the house and garden. We haven’t gone anywhere but house and garden, so he’s had ample opportunity to excel at what I need most in the kitchen, bathroom or out in the yard. Staying at home was simpler. At shops and cafes, there are – people. The grocery store is at the top of the scary list. My husband (and local farm delivery) has taken that on since February. No one used to stop to talk to him in any aisle before the virus and they’re certainly not going to start, […]