Yoga and meditation

Well, in an attempt to move away from tree branch thwacking (as therapeutic as it is) and I feel it necessary to start campaigning for its introduction as a new olympic sport (oh hell yeah, the gold would be mine...well, bronze easy ;) ) I have just been to sign up for yoga and meditation classes. First lesson tonite....

I haven't really left the house for as long as I can remember (which probably isn't as long as it feels, lol) so first hurdle will be actually overcome the anxiety, to go get help on dealing with anxiety...ooo, ye ol' chicken and egg thingy going on.

Someone wish me luck, tell me this is a good thing to do??

At least the tree'll be happier, no?

I took a yoga class in 2001 and it was life-transforming for me.

It "got my head on straight" about many things. Basically, doing yoga puts you very much in the moment and that is very healing.

Yoga can seem quite comical when first starting only because it can be challenging to maintain some of the poses that require balance.

Still, staying focused and allowing yourself to stay in the moment is soooo good.

Please let us know how things go with your first class, silly sheep!

I forgot to mention the thing that wowed me the most:

I fell of a ladder last year and broke my back. I was home alone, couldn't move an inch and was laying on the floor for an hour and a half until my neighbours got home and heard me scream for them.
I was in so much pain I felt I was going to pass out several times, and suddenly thought about meditating. It brought down the overwhelming pain, and calmed me. I never passed out.

silly sheep, i totally support you doing this! it's a very low impact way of being in the world. yoga has been soooooooo good for me. i've kept it up throughout being sick... i believe that really there is always a kind of yoga that you can do, no matter what degree your illness... for example on my sickest days i do some yoga nidra, which is just lying on your back imagining points of light on various parts of your body! but even on some of my very sick days i'll go to an asana class... as intense it is to show up with air hunger or body pain (and sometimes there are tears streaming down my face as i stretch), the way i feel pre and post is absolutely miraculous. i'm not in great shape, but i can't imagine where i'd be at this point without it.

one little thing... it takes me sooooo long to find a class i like... for the most part they aren't the right fit... and it's a very personal thing... so you might go into the experience expecting to shop a few classes before picking one that's most right for you. also, might be worth calling the front desk and asking about classes designed for restoration or even geared towards those with illness.

good luck!!

Oh also! It's kind of yoga protocol if you're new or have any injuries/illness to approach the teacher before class and let her know. No pressure to do so if you're introverted (none of my teachers know I have lyme now that I think about it, yikes!). But if you WERE to do this, no doubt you'd get some special attention/adjustments during class that would feel extra good.

Wow guys, sounds like its a way more popular activity than I ever gave it credit for and inspiring that you got so much from it. Thank you so much for your support and great advice too.

Marie, that is amazing!! I have to say that I am a great believer in 'mind over matter' in fact its what gets me through many days. I had a chat to the instructor beforehand and explained my situation. He did make a very interesting and valid observation when I explained about the brain fog and cognitive and emotional problems, in that while I am all about mind over matter I should also think about my body over my mind.

He has suggested that by learning to focus my body on a task (like holding a simple position) I can stop my mind running away from me. Hmm, never looked at it that way round. He wants me to concentrate on seeing meditating not as doing nothing but as having a greater purpose. Yeah, I never was the sitting still type and being 'forced' to do so when I have a real crappy day is a source of great irritation. Or it has been. Time for a rethink, me thinks!!

I can say I really enjoyed the class :) It was reasonably dynamic, but not 'jeez this is way hard'. I should mention that I ballet danced in a serious capacity for about 15 years in my youth and was an avid rockclimber for years and was quite nifty at it (I taught outdoor ed) so I have a good sense of balance and all that malarkey.

I did find it very surprising how much muscle twitching/ tremours I have been ignoring till I had to sit still and actually focus on my body, and the numbness in my hands that I guess has just become a kind or norm. It will be interesting to see how that changes as my treatment goes along.

I have had an email back off someone else who also runs classes, I just went with the first class I found, before I bottled out, lol (Its a small island so choice is a little limited) so I think I may also try her classes and see which one suits me best. Sounds like good advice, marigold :)

Regardless of which one I end up going with I am definitely going again and am hoping to turn it into a weekly thing.

Mister Mike, what can I say, tree hugging is also a passion of mine (often I feel the need to properly apologise to said tree these days too) but you are missing out on a really intense therapy session!! You have to get in the proper 'rage zone' to fully reap the benefits though, half hearted thwacking just won't do ;) The verb 'to thwack' can also be used in adjective/adverb form as in 'that was thwacking good fun' or as a noun by describing yourself or others as 'thwackers'. Do try to incorporate this useful and much loved word (well, loved by me anyroad) where ever bad grammar allows :)

Traveler, 'Go thwackers of team healingwell'!! (Hell, wellington boot chucking is a sport where I come from; and the scots chuck trees; and I have seen what mad 'sports' those aussies get up to... I think we have valid grounds for its introduction to the public at large...??) Look out olympic podium, here we come!!!

For those who can't manage going to class, Yoga Journal has an amazing array of dvds for home practice, many tailored to beginners and several designed either for detox or healing.

Since I'm still working, I've little time or energy left to attend a class but on all but the very worst days, I can do one these taped practices and feel much better afterwards. My daily go to is the AM/PM yoga, two half hour sessions, the first wakes you up for the day (and gets the lymph glands flowing--my sinuses drain within the first ten minutes), the second helps you unwind and prepare for sleep.

Stuff what I learned this week, mostly while sitting really still in jogging pants...

1. Stretching makes you sweat buckets. Who knew?

2.Just because I do not believe in a god does not mean that one does not exist, neither does it invalidate religion. Someone's refusal to believe in my lyme disease does not mean that I am not suffering, nor does it invalidate my illness.

3. I accept the fact that others without lyme do not understand how I feel, in the same way I cannot comprehend what it would be like to have been blind my whole life. I cannot explain my illness any better than colour can be explained to someone who has never seen.

4. Treating Lyme is like playing snakes and ladders. The way forward sometimes involves going backwards. My aim is not just to reach the end of the game but to take control of the dice away from the bacteria.

5. The obvious connections we see are not always those that will help you. The unexpected 'out of left field' connections are those that will lead to answers. Do not ignore them or dismiss them because they are not obvious.

6. I need to get some shorts because jogging pants are too darn sweaty.


I like this yoga thing :)

Y'all have convinced me. I always thought yoga was too easy and not physical enough for me. But now with lyme I am doing nothing. Yoga is sounding like a great place to start. Thank you all.

My LLMD told me to try QiGong kinda like yoga it's helped me a lot and still does helps heal mind body spirit all together just like yoga