Lessons

[Guest guest]

These are problem areas that have sabotaged previous physical

therapy/exercise attempts and what I try to look for in response.

*Be content with slow progress.*

Add exercises slowly, so I can learn and understand the mechanics

of each one, and get them integrated successfully.

I spent forty years trying to “play through†my heredity by

ignoring my body, not understanding why I couldn’t get things right; I just

spent

four years learning how to pay attention to what is actually happening to me.

I have to be gentle enough with myself to keep that up.

*Things that won’t take over my life.*

Even when I was young, and when I was in much better shape

(performing several shows a week, practicing, and working), I failed to manage

life

well. I have to maintain the progress I’ve made in the past few years; if I

don’

t, I can’t find a reason to do anything.

For instance, I’ve eliminated migraines (which used to completely

cripple me several days a month) by integrating a few simple acupressure

techniques that I do several times a day while I’m doing something that

doesn’t

require both my hands.

*That are simple and small.*

I have a varying amount of noise in my hearing, my vision, and my

sense of touch. It can be difficult to process through all that and maintain

focus on doing an exercise while making sure my joints stay in place and without

forgetting to breathe (something I do many times at night, when my odd brain

forgets to tell my lungs to breath).

So I can work around injuries without ditching too much else.

I need to be able to do them without other body parts going numb or

freezing in place.

*Must be cheap to maintain.*

My prescriptions and Medicare premium leave me less than $50 of my

monthly disability.

*Things I can do at home.*

Again, cheap.

No matter my intention, I never successfully integrate anything

that means spending much time in public. It isn’t an embarrassment issue, it

just

takes a lot of energy for me to concentrate when there’s too much sensory

input.

Travel is particularly troublesome. Driving means my shoulders

separate; riding means I can’t control the effects (how hard I hit bumps,

turns,

etc.). I have a limited number of good hours in a day and week. Even with

improvement, there’s a limit to how long I can let gravity work on a joint

before

it begins to get painful inside the joint and I have to let it rest, or risk

numbing and swelling.