yoga and parkinsons

June 21, 2015

Grapefruit Yoga

During class one morning, a woman asked if I could define yoga in one word. I considered the array of descriptions, musings and translations. After a deep breath, I answered, “Awareness.” The word-nerd in me smiled at the perfect match I’d made: Awareness. It’s recognizing the moment for what it is. It’s focusing on how we move. It’s aligning mind and body. I was so satisfied with my response that I shared it with other classes, interspersing Awareness tidbits between poses. “Bring attention to the moment,” and “Witness each bend and reach,” plus “Notice the ‘aha’ moments.” So much we can do with awareness! Early one day, my phone chirped its appointment-reminder tone. I checked it, checked the time and rushed to find footwear and brush my teeth. I didn’t remember making an 8:00 a.m. doctor appointment for that day, but that’s what had blinked at me from my screen. […]
March 1, 2016

Insta-Like

I click the Like icon routinely on friend’s Facebook posts or their comments on mine. It’s a rare moment, however, when my internal Like button gets pressed and that immediate, undeniably warm sensation whooshes in and says, Yes. Good. Life is better because that person is here living it, too. In yoga, our awareness opens us, teaches us to step back from our egos and witness the Like in all. Well, I’m not there, yet. Maybe after the election. In the meantime, there are people such as Meg Bernard. I haven’t met her, have never spoken with her, don’t know where she lives. Still, she has a message and such likeability worth sharing. Almost makes me want to staple her name to a stick and stand on the street corner urging you to read Meg’s blog (click to read her blog) and cast your ballot for more people like her.
November 9, 2016

EGADS

I know where I recognized that dread, that weight, that sour taste that defined this morning after the election. I woke to it the morning after my diagnosis. Egads. I grieved — occasionally still do — and I got out from under the weight. Time to do it again with yoga and: My EGADS approach to Parkinson’s  ^(11/9/16) Life Exercise (yoga is good) & eat well (that includes pie) Give a compliment (once in a while, I give one to myself) Aaah moments (find three each day; in difficulty, refer to above: pie) Do something for someone else Step outside (breathe) And remember – quoting my friend, Cindy – until there is a cure, there is community.  
September 1, 2018

Got Parkinson’s? Get Exercising.

The Wednesday class is back from summer vacation and it’s better than ever. It’s Live! Online! Free! Click here for info. Sponsored by the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation/NWPF. Yoga is good for you. Not only that, it’s fun. It’s also a form of exercise, and exercise is good for you. Especially if you’re living with Parkinson’s. I’ve known it for years. Now studies even say so. Check it out: the Michael J Fox Foundation says so, too. No one should walk their Parkinson’s journey alone. Whether you’re convinced you can’t do yoga or you’re an experienced guru (or anything in-between), if you’re living with PD, yoga can help relieve symptoms. Join this live, online class with viewers from around the globe (including the instructor) who are living with PD. You’re not alone. See you on Wednesdays!
February 15, 2019

Snowvasana

I know snow. I know that the stinging kind is never good. And while the puffy flakes call out for snowshoes, snowmen and snowball tossing, it piles up. I grew up in Buffalo and spent two decades in New England. I know how to prep and dress for blizzards, play and drive in squalls and clear a path through the aftermath of a Nor’easter. The reason I now live on the other coast derives from knowing snow, from having too much first-hand experience with it. Last week, the flat flakes began floating down from our western skies (“It doesn’t snow here”). It started sticking (“And if it does, it’s no more than a dusting”). Weather reports launched into increasing numbers of inches on the ground and days that schools would remain closed (“If we ever get too much, we wait for it to melt”). Once the sideways snow softened, the […]
May 9, 2019

Inhale and Hold for Five

This Is So not Yoga A Promise For more than five years, neurologists have been promising an inhalable form of the Parkinson’s gold-standard medication. No lengthy trials were needed to test the medication itself – the inhaler uses the Levodopa of the Carbidopa/Levodopa combo so many of us already swallow numerous times per day. The delivery system (a puff like an asthmatic’s remedy) however, needed to pass safety and efficacy trials. Early on, the Michael J. Fox Foundation gave two grants of more than a million dollars to the study. Still, the years ticked on. Burger or Bust The reason so many of us continued to be hopeful about the elusive inhaler was because it would send the medication into the bloodstream without having to go through the stomach and intestines first. Maintaining a steady level in the bloodstream is essential – drop too low and symptoms become severe and […]
August 26, 2019

The Yoga of Travel

I’m not a light packer. A weekend getaway requires a giant duffel. Forget shoes, there’s the sack of daily Parkinson’s meds, service dog paraphernalia–bed, harness, food–more food–and of course, my yoga mat. Now, imagine a month-long vacation in a compact RV. Fortunately, James (the RV) feels roomy due to lots of nooks and cubbies (and a wee bit of cramming) to store the four weeks’ worth of supplies. But I forgot about  the extra 165 pounds of Great Dane—and his bed and food, and more food–on board. It wasn’t looking good for unrolling my yoga mat. That concerned me. Vacation time away doesn’t mean time away from yoga. Hours of sitting on James, no matter how glorious the views, would be an open door to lurking rigidity.  No space? No problem, I decided. By pairing upward salutes with seated half dogs in my co-pilot seat, I created a rendition of […]