Mondays with Marlene

In my humble opinion ...

When I was a young mother, many moons ago, I took a winters worth of Yoga at the “Y”, and enjoyed it thoroughly. The slow, controlled movements really worked all of one’s joints and in fact when we finished a class by lying down and relaxing, I often fell asleep. Now that’s relaxed.

I haven’t done Yoga many, many years, but am going to start again this coming fall/winter. I will be starting with some trepidation because of the injuries from the car accident, but knowing there are many different types of Yoga, I will start gently, doing what I can, then work from there. Obviously one of the things I remember well is the relaxing part, which can be powerful medicine. As you no doubt know, there is growing scientific evidence that there is a strong link between our thoughts, attitudes and emotions, and our mental and physical health. In other words, we can use our mind to help manage the symptoms of our chronic condition. That gives us a lot of power, but we have to learn how to use it.

While I was in the hospital last year I had to face the possibility of some pretty serious spinal surgery and a possible variety of results, some not so pleasant. I knew I was going to have to really focus on getting well and keep myself calm, so I asked my daughter in law, who teaches Yoga, to help me with my breathing, relaxation techniques, imagery and anything else she could think of that would help me get through this minefield of possibilities. Cutting to the end of this story, everyone, me included, was amazed at how calm I was through the entire process and how I kept my thinking positive. I visualized my spine healing and myself walking through a forest, or on a beach, which are my favourite things to do. And it worked.

I still have issues to deal with, but every single day, I thank the Universe for giving me another day on this beautiful earth and that is how I manage. One day at a time.

Give thanks and live each day as fully as you can. It works.