Physical

Been working out at the nicely equipped Lincoln City Community Center.  Also getting physical therapy 2-3 times per week.  It is amazing to me how much relief I am feeling in my back after just a handful of sessions.   My therapist is using a kind of heated ultra sound on my problem spot.  She also has me doing some stretches that seem to help.  She's a really nice young woman but I find myself wondering when I got so much older than every medical professional I'm seeing.

The community center just bought a seated stair stepper, which is what I used to lose all that weight back in New York State.  It is a piece of equipment that can be used by people who have limited mobility, but it is actually a good workout for anyone. 

I went to a gym in Watkins Glen that was owned by Barb, a member of the Hector church.   She was a fabulous trainer and did her work for love of fitness, not for money.  She was given the stair stepper after the death of Father Dave, the former priest at the Watkins Glen Catholic church.  He had severe diabetes which contributed to his death.  Barb kept one of the mass cards from Father Dave's funeral taped to the wall by the machine. 

Dave had been a good colleague.   He had a lot of complications from his diabetes, including partial blindness  We did a wedding together of a Presbyterian groom and a Catholic bride.  The bride also had a Franciscan priest who she knew in college in Chicago.  When Dave got the exchange of peace, he turned to who he thought were the bride and groom and said that at this point, they may kiss.  But it wasn't the bride and groom, it was me and the Franciscan priest.  While everyone laughed, we shrugged and looked at each other with that "Why not?" look.

It has always struck me that my friend dying brought a piece of equipment to me that helped me to be healthier.   Life and death are intertwined in ways that we cannot comprehend.   Surely that is something that we all believe as Christians.

Working out, cardio, weights and floor work for core and cool down, always leaves me with quite the endorphin rush.  I often think of a line from my favorite movie, "The Empire Strikes Back".   "I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself."  Somewhere, between the last illness and death of my mother and the stress I had on the job, I let go of going to the gym.  My fall in August 2009 also slowed me down. 

Now that I'm back to working out, I think I turned a lot of my anger and stress and grief in on myself.  Taking care of myself ceased to be an option.  It's a real danger for many people, especially for women. I thought I was beyond that danger, but I wasn't.  So now I am learning to care for myself again.

Self care doesn't mean self centered.  The opposite of self care is self destruction. 

My physical therapist has pointed out that I've been walking around hunched over.    Apparently I've been doing that for some time now.    She's got me working on standing up straight when I walk.   It feels unnatural right now.  I feel like I'm John Cleese in that old Python sketch, "Ministry of Silly Walks", but I'm told it looks better.

Stand up straight, raise your head, shoulders back, walk.   Simplest thing in the world. 

God, who walked among us, grant that we may all learn to walk in your way with strength and with peace.   Amen.

blessings,

Cindy