Becoming Well

Having a chronic and progressive illness can leave each day in the hands of fate. Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD) has a mind of its own. Some days are better than others. There are days when the pain is so intense that I wonder how I will make it through the day not to mention a lifetime of living with this disease.

Some days I hurt but the pain is manageable. When I have a good day, I find it is hard to enjoy the pain free moments and actually breathe because I know it is a temporary relief - it won't be long until the MD monster rears its fierce head again. A good day is filled with panic as to what the following day may bring.

While LGMD affects your muscles, that doesn't mean there isn't a plethora of intense highs and lows. Most emotions can't be described in words. Anger abounds. Embarrassment takes over. Shame slowly chips away at your heart. All of this and more compounded with many minutes, hours and days of wanting to give in, irrational fears and those sweet yet fleeting moments of believing that the pain is only temporary.

For me, this disease has been cyclical. The less I do, the more I get stuck inside of my head. I have become a master at letting my mind run wild about all of the ways I am failing as a human being. I often ask myself "How can my mind work so well yet my body is so uncooperative?"

On the good days, I plow through life at what feels like warp speed because I never know when a "bad day" will occur next. I have come to find that treating the symptoms of LGMD also involves managing the mind by quieting the negative voices, believing that each of us holds WITHIN OURSELVES the strength to handle all that is thrown at us.

Yoga has been a lifesaver for me. When the mind is clear, you are more kind to yourself. A quiet mind also affords us a patience that a cluttered mind cannot comprehend. You gain the ability to trust that everything happens precisely the way it is supposed to, exactly when it is supposed to; which ultimately creates an inner peace that no other practice or medication can provide.

A quiet mind affords us the ability to merely wrap our arms around the fact that the "bad" days will come and go and that one day - hopefully - a good day will occur to prove that everything is going to be ok. The results I have experienced from yoga, meditation, mindfulness and most of all gratitude, have been astounding both physically and emotionally.

I am incredibly blessed to have found Michele Benton from Om Sunshine Yoga. At first, we were both apprehensive. I'm not sure that either one of us had a concrete plan. We just knew that together we could create an adaptive yoga practice in an effort to "wake up" my muscles. We also set out to take those inevitable self-defeating thoughts that come with a progressive illness and put them to rest. Through Adaptive Yin Yoga, Meditation and a lot of trial and error, Michele has helped me to "Become Well." If you are interested in "Becoming Well" please contact Michele Benton on Facebook at www.facebook.com/omsunshineyoga

You will not regret it!