Restorative Yoga

I fed Ken and Matt dinner last night (a repeat of our make-your-own burrito menu from Karen Teacup's house on Friday night). In return, they stayed with Ruby and Zane while I went to a restorative yoga class at Nancy's studio.

It was awesome. We "rested" in very gentle stretching yoga poses supported by pillows and blankets for about 10 minutes in each pose. While we were in the pose, a Reiki practitioner and a massage therapist circled the room and gave us Reiki and/or massage. I didn't fall asleep, which was good, and I was probably successful about 50% of the time---ok, maybe 40% of the time--at focusing on my breath and keeping my mind in the room. The massage was incredible (head, neck, shoulder, and arms). Not too hard and not too soft.

Reiki was really powerful, too. Afterward, Nancy said that she felt my body literally pushing her away with it's energy when she touched my eyes. Her hands felt very hot on my skin and she said she felt something similar to electricity go up her arms. She thought that meant that I could really benefit from regular Reiki and promised to give me a few minutes at the end of yoga class if I couldn't come for sessions.

I'm not sure how or why Reiki works but I believe it can be very healing. I'm not delusional, though. Reiki is NOT going to cure MS but I do think it can help with symptoms.

My eyes feel like the epicenter of my MS since that's where my symptoms started, where the nerve damage has occurred, and I'm still not totally convinced I won't go blind. (Have I already written about my "Welcome to Blindness" weekend seminar idea for the Perkins School for the Blind?) When Nancy touched my eyes, in addition to feeling heat, some pretty intense emotions came up--fear, sadness, anger. More layers in the acceptance process, I guess.

At the end of the class, Nancy read something I don't totally remember except for one line. "Do what you love," it said.

"I love to write," I heard myself say inside my head (at least I HOPE it was inside my head because otherwise my classmates probably questioned my sanity and/or wished I would respect the silence rule for restorative yoga).

And I do! I absolute LOVE writing. It nourishes me and makes my spirit come alive. That's what I want to do...write. Specifically, I love writing creative non-fiction as my Writing as Women teacher in college called what I always thought of as my quirky column style. I AM doing what I want to do, what I love to do. I AM writing creative non-fiction with this blog/book. Am I lucky or what?!