Bornfamous

There’s nothing like unremitting pain to motivate you to do what’s good for you. Or not. My chronic pain over the years has led me to do the opposite–that is, sitting and lying around waiting for the pain to go away. Which, of course, just makes it worse. Duh.

I need to get motivated. I need to get moving.

So naturally, I opened a book. Why move when you can READ about moving, right? And then BLOG about moving, of course. Anything to avoid actual, you know–movement. Excuse me while I take some aspirin…

[gulping sounds]

So where was I? Oh, the book. Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow, just happened to be sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for me since I ordered it and a bunch of other yoga books and videos in a burst of good intentions two years ago. I remember paging through it at the time and thinking maybe later. So this is later. Thank goodness for good intentions; at least the book is here when I need it.

Kraftsow, who is the founder of the American Viniyoga Institute, uses ayurvedic principals to “show you how you can use Yoga to heal… common aches and pains, chronic disease [and] emotional … stress and disease.”

I don’t happen to be among “traditional” medicine’s satisfied customers. I have had frightening and painful reactions to several prescription drugs. And frankly, I believe that most drugs deal with symptoms while covering up the disease itself. Don’t get me wrong; allopathic medicine is unparalleled when it comes to traumatic injury and infectious disease. Chronic illness, pain management, and chemical injury: not so much. [Just my humble opinion.] Which is why the idea of a home yoga therapy practice appeals to me so much.

But therein lies the crux of the problem: among my many character flaws, I suffer from a severe shortage of self-discipline. I could take yoga classes again, but the studios I’ve tried in the past have all burned incense and/or the other students wore fragrance. No can do. A home practice is the only solution.

So I think I’ve come up with a way to motivate myself to follow Kraftsow’s advice, chapter by chapter. You guessed it: I’m going to blog my way through the book.

A chapter a day might be too ambitious, so I’ll go at my own pace; that is, I will read some every day, do some yoga every day, and blog about it every day. I may even post before, during, and after pics. We’ll see.

But first, let’s set a baseline. Here is my condition as of this moment: awful.

Brutal Honesty Dept:

• Age: 59
• Feel like: 69
• Weight: 240 [Maybe more. Note to self: buy scale.]
• Pain index: 7 out of 10

So I’m definitely motivated. Pain will do that. The trick is to stay motivated. I hope yoga will help me do that.