July 19, 2009
Who doesn’t remember when you learned to ride a bike? A number of studies report on the benefits of exercise – paticularly bicycling. And while it seems an innate talent, PD’s balance issues can keep us out of the saddle. If you’re eager to pedal but stymied by staying upright on two wheels, meet Trudy: http://www.limyoga.com/parkinsons_ride.html#three_wheelin
July 13, 2009
I learned something the other day from a feathered pet that fits on my finger. It makes me wonder if Billy Bob the Lovebird was a yogi in his past life because, beyond his flexible, acrobatic ability is his instinctive sense of ahimsa, a non-harming, natural gentleness with himself. Read more about it in my guest blog, Smart Bird, on the Life with Dystonia site: http://www.lifewithdystonia.com
July 8, 2009
A highlight of my recent travels in Paris was attending a yoga class in a small neighborhood studio. Though the instructor’s English was flawless, she taught in her native tongue. All those high school body part vocab lists uploaded in my brain – arm, leg, right, left, breathe. I recognized the words for strong while in warrior pose and solid while in mountain. The very same descriptions that I use. Somehow, though, they held a certain beauty listening to them in French. In the calm of her gentle class, she allowed for moments of self-reflection in and between poses, where she spoke one phrase again and again: Ouvrez le coeur, Open the heart. The repetition wasn’t because we didn’t understand her words, it was because that reminder is worth repeating in any language.