Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Yahoo to yoga!

I have been doing yoga for a while. Always been vrot (Afrikaans for awful/lousy) at it but enjoyed it. Then I got an inner ear infection and my balance went wonky and I couldn't do, then I got cancer and although the doctor said I could do it and gym was banned, there was no ways I had the stamina to endure a 90-minute class. In fact, I ended up going back to gym halfway through radiation, but still remember that first time I went back to yoga - they wanted me to stand, and move? Thought I was gonna fall over...
Anyway, now that I am highrisk/borderline lymphedema, have been informed that yoga is good for me so make an effort to be there every Tuesday night. It is only possible to go once a week with my teacher if you are a beginner, and being not brilliant at it and with such an erratic experience of it, that is what I am.
The lymphedema risk means I cannot put wait on my left arm. I can do dogpose as the weight is spread evenly over the arms and legs but not handstand etc (not that I could do it anyway!).
Well tonight had a breakthrough. Did a shoulder stand. Yes, I did it the "old person" way, using a chair as a prop, but I did it. And yes, after a while I asked how to come out of the pose, but I felt liberated - physically - and in fact still do, although it's about two hours since my class finished. Cannot wait to do another shoulder stand next week. And the upside is that inversions such as shoulder stand are excellent for the lymph. Must find out if can just do that at home, or what to combine it with in which order......

3 comments:

  1. Gillian,

    We found your blog and are inspired by your story. Wanted to thank you for sharing this with us and to let you know that we have added your blog to BreastCancerDiscovery.com blogroll. It can be found on our home page footer and within the pages of our own blog. Keep writing - your bravery is truly inspiring!

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  2. Thanks for linking me to your blogroll. Have to say though, that I am not sure what you mean by bravery. Nothing about cancer has to do with bravery. Well not for me anyway.It's just about doing one step at a time.

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  3. Just been to your site and it's a fab to find other blogs with which I am unfamiliar. Never realised when I got diagnosed with cancer what a comfort other blogs -and their writers - would be. Great to share experiences.

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