Grateful Aging

Aging is Not Always Graceful, But It Can Be Grateful

Embracing Grateful Aging: Finding Joy and Strength in the Challenges

At that point in time, I was going to physiotherapy 2-3 times per week. The sessions were painful and exhausting, however, I knew that they were helping because there was a short window of time after the sessions when the pain level would go down to about an 8 out of 10. Usually after an appointment I would go home and have a long nap, finally being in a state of reduced pain and able to sleep. 

At the same time of recovery from the knee surgery, I was waiting for cataract surgery for both eyes. My vision had become quite blurry, especially for reading and computer work. This meant that I could not read all those books that I thought I might catch up on while recovering from knee surgery. Given the high level of pain that I was in, I don’t think that I could have concentrated on reading anyways. 

As you might imagine, I was really frustrated. My recovery was not as expected. There is a lot more that I have written about this that I have written in former blogs such as this one.

I asked myself “What else could I do to get through this?”. What I realized is that this was the wrong question. I was doing everything and all of it was hard and like torture. I was doing all the physiotherapy, all the exercises, all the icing with the cryo cuff machine. 

Embracing Grateful Aging During Recovery

I changed the question: “What would be healing and gentle?”

The answers were clear. Healing sounds. Music from the past. Adapted Chair Yoga and breathing with touching my thumbs to my fingers. 

And above all, being grateful. 

While in extreme pain, you would not expect gratitude to help… I had to push myself to find little things to be grateful for. Movement of my fingers and hands, which could distract me from my pain for a moment. Having a bathroom right next to my bedroom especially at night time. Having the tools from being a Kripalu Yoga Teacher (and soon to be Certified Chair Yoga Teacher) and Rubenfeld Synergist to apply principles to myself and become the observer of my pain. 

Finally, I was grateful to be given the gift of pain and temporary immobility and disability. It gave me the opportunity to not only experience extreme pain but also to be the observer and witness to the pain. It gave me the opportunity to not only experience the gaps in my recovery but also to fill the gaps in my recovery. 

Finding Peace in Pain: Aging Gratefully with Adapted Chair Yoga

One of those gifts was developing a special version of Adapted Chair Yoga. I needed these movements to improve and even be able to do the more advanced physiotherapy exercises that at first seemed impossible. I applied the concepts of body-mind exercises by the late Ilana Rubenfeld, Founder of the Rubenfeld Synergy Method®, to yoga asanas and physiotherapy movements. What emerged was something new to me, and it worked to help me walk, do stairs, and most importantly, get me out of extreme pain. 

Once again, I am grateful. I gained insight into what it is like to age quickly with pain and compromised function. Now, I can be a guide to help you reverse the things that you are noticing are aging you quickly. 

In my next blogs, I will cover:

• My brain feels broken. Now what?
• Challenges of changing your diet
• Pushing the limits with aging