Body Awareness

In past essays and muses I’ve talked about the education that one needs to deal with epilepsy. I’ve discussed education from a ‘school’ point of view these past few weeks, and a bit about self education. What I have, I think, failed to mention, is body education. Not a body of education but educating the body! One would think, that once you learn to walk and run, ride a bike, dance, throw a ball there would be no other education needed. Now that I think about it, I’ve merely been adequate at any of those activities learned in my youth. The most regular activity, specifically for my body's health, a yoga/exercise routine for years. The regularity have been intermittent, but in general pretty faithful.

But that is not the point of this post. My skeleton is rather crooked - my spine is the shape of my first initial ‘S’. There is a fancy medical name for that physical oddity - scoliosis. There's much more to that story than I have to talk about tonight. Tonight is about, not just educating, but re-educating the body that, with each year and dare I say, decade, just keeps on reminding me that muscles protest loudly when overworked. This scoliosis thing, besides stamping my back with the letter ‘S’, has created an imbalance in my musculature.

Since I’ve been doing Aquafit, walking so much more and of course doing my yoga/exercise routine I have gotten stronger, more balanced and have slept better. However…… when you’re in the water, doing aerobic exercise for an hour, following the directions of a 40 something man who runs marathons, any muscle that hasn’t kept up with its lessons, stretches too far becomes annoyingly sore and unwilling to respond rapidly.

My own re-education is to try not to keep up to someone 20 years younger and much more fit. But when I do, I seek the services of my very effective massage therapist and slow my pace. Not quit, just walk slower for a bit, get out the Epsom salts for bath and rub on the liniment.

So, what does that all have to do with epilepsy? A tonic/clonic seizure, strains every muscle in a body. Yoga and exercise have positive effects on brain health. Regarding epilepsy, they have provided me with focus, calm, energy and, I believe, supports seizure control. So it is a 'two for one' benefit for my health in general.

“The body is a big sagacity, a plurality with one sense,

a war and a peace, a flock and a shepherd.”

 ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Author's note: August 17, 2024

    Extensive revision to provide focus on epilepsy that I neglected to write in the initial writing of this essay.