I started learning the Primary series of Ashtanga yoga last November on a whim. An acquaintance posted something on Instagram that caught my eye, leading me to follow Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta on the app. Just my luck, their beginners course was starting in just a couple weeks and at a very reasonable price! I hadn’t…
Tag: #RA
Acknowledging the “Spoon Theory” & Accepting Your Limitations
In case you haven’t heard of the “Spoon Theory” before (and even if you have), please take the time to read Christine Miserandino’s account of how she began to discuss living with chronic illness in terms of having utensils. In essence, the Spoon Theory is a metaphor that sets up health like a bank account…
Pressing the Reset Button
Now and again, there comes a time when we just need to take a breather and hit the reset button on life. Frustrations mount, stresses build, and complications twist everything into a knotted, tangled mess. You can’t always walk away from your stressors – usually you can’t – but you can take a step back. You…
A Good Day
So often when you have a chronic disorder, especially a painful or debilitating one, it can be difficult to talk about the good days. That seems counterintuitive, right? Shouldn’t we want to talk about the good days more than the bad? Of course we do! Thinking of the good days is what gets us through…
Once More Into the Breach
I’m sitting in a hotel room in Miami, mere hours from the next chapter in what has become a seven-year climb. I suppose I could think of my steady stream of surgeries as a mighty war against the scar tissue that continues to threaten my vision. Tomorrow’s surgery is but one battle of many in…
Try, Try Again
Do you ever wake up and just think, “Not today”? For those of us with chronic illnesses (or even difficult habits), finding a way out can seem like an impossible task. After years of trying, the trying itself can become a monstrous chore. I know I have certainly had moments where giving up looked like…
Putting the Pieces Together
We don’t talk enough about the added effects of chronic health problems. We’ll talk about what medications help. We might mention their physical side effects. But how often do we talk about how these things affect our daily lives? It’s almost as if being alive is enough. But in some ways it really isn’t. Being…
The Numbing Wall
I suppose I should start by saying that I won my battle with the insurance company! I apologize that it has been so long since I have written. I could blame it on being in grad school. Or on this increasingly frustrating bout of writer’s block. But excuses are futile. I haven’t written because I…
Dealing With (Insurance) Denial
Every year seems to start up a new game with my health insurance company. If they do not send out a new statement of benefits, I have to track it down on their website or call in to request a copy. Depending upon the new government regulations, new treatments (finally) considered scientifically viable, and the…
Fighting Fear, Fighting Frustration, Finding the Silver Lining
I finally made it home today, one week after going to the doctor to check on a fever. Funny how a checkup can turn into a brief hospital stay. Not so funny how a few nights in the hospital can bring back so many memories and ignite so much fear and frustration. Last Sunday, I…