July 3, 2009
It was my honor to guest blog for Rogers Hartmann’s site Life with Dystonia. She is a gift to the word of movement disorders. Check it out: www.lifewithdystonia.com
June 24, 2009
I always loved Tigger’s song from Winnie-the-Pooh, especially the end when he stops bouncing and declares, “and I’m the only one.” Unlike Tigger, I’m not the only one, not the only yoga teacher out there living with PD. I’ve had the pleasure of learning about Paul Zeiger’s class and approach to yoga for Parkinson’s. Paul even made Denver news and was featured on the local Fox television station teaching his class. A number of his students commented on camera about Paul’s skill and the benefits they were feeling from the yoga. Like Tigger, that’s a wonderful thing.
June 18, 2009
William “Bill” Froelich believed in me before I knew what I was going to do. I met Bill at a five-day retreat, where there were designated silent periods: during meals, the transition time between sessions and evenings through to dawn. These were the windows of space to meditate, observe, bring awareness to the simple acts of breathing, walking. Walking at that time, however, was no simple act. It was before my diagnosis but well after symptoms had appeared. I was not on any meds. My pace was slow; my fears – of falling, of what was happening in my body – were high. Each step took all of my attention as I focused on the movement and the dips in the ground beneath me. When I learned that walking meditation involves just that, I found it oddly delightful to be surrounded by so many people taking as much effort to […]