I got up early and did a morning class today. I am not a morning person! I was stiff in the stretching poses and wobbly in the balancing postures. I felt foggy-brained, spaced out, not very alert. It was not a difficult class or a too hot class, but I just wasn't at my best. I did every set of every posture. It was just a groggy class for me.
It was good to see a few of the beginners from yesterday at this morning's class.
In other news, I've been doing a little work on expanding my health & wellness knowledge, with the hopes of bringing more to the classes I teach. This afternoon, I will be attending a workshop for teaching yoga to people recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction. Yesterday, I attended "Diabetes Expo," a health fair for diabetics.
The expo was depressing! It seemed geared to just accepting your diagnosis and giving up. Get a mobility device from the Scooter Store, and stop trying to walk! Just try this other pharmaceutical!
I'm not gonna go off on a rant about food and diet, as I would never stop once I got started. I worked for natural foods companies for many years and have formed some strong opinions. But damn, I want to get my fitness/yoga instruction ideas more together, because I would like to attend next year's Expo to show people how doable yoga is, and how much it helps your overall well-being. And actually, I've read several studies, from universities in India, that showed marked improvement in diabetes patients who practice yoga daily. Even some Type I juvenile diabetics were able to reduce or omit insulin usage when they practiced yoga regularly. And the circulatory benefits of any asana practice, but Bikram yoga practice in particular, would be of amazing value to the average diabetes sufferer.
I'm off to enjoy the sunshine for a bit before heading off to the teaching workshop. It feels weird to be more than half-way through the 101 Challenge.
Go Back and Look Again
9 years ago
Thanks for your reflections on the diabetes expo, Sisya. I find it ironic that, over and over again, doctors want to "Manage" the problem rather than cure it. Makes me so cynical I think they are probably just in the pharm industry's pockets!
ReplyDeleteJust one little mini-rant here. I remember visiting a doc at Kaiser a couple of years ago for my migraines. I was practically crying to him because they were so bad. It wasn't until after I left his office that I realized he hadn't offered any real solutions--he simply prescribed Vicodin and sent me on his way.
Now yoga... that has absolutely CURED the migraines. I know we all have stories about chronic illnesses!
Isn't that terrible? Here, just stay on this medicine forever and that's it. Yoga and a proper diet does help. There are so many students who have stories of reducing and/or stopping meds for thyroids, diabetes, heart meds, all sorts of stuff! While it may not "cure" every condition, it certainly makes things more liveable!
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