Yin and Yang
I started this blog two years ago to inform of the possibilities of yoga on the progression and or symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. I do this in the form of a journey, mine.
The hardest part about blogging on the MS side is writing a positive story about my disease. Being diagnosed with MS is not a positive development but I still have to find my way. Yoga is one of those positive forces in my life especially when it comes to MS. And this blog is kind of a Yin Yang story. Yin represents MS or the negative side of the blog and Yang represents Yoga the positive side of this blog. You can’t have one without the other. And that’s probably true about the existence of this blog.
Yang even though positive, does contain some Yin, and Yin even though negative, does contain some Yang and that is what I look for when posting about my MS journey.
It’s been a very stressful year and stress in my opinion is one of the biggest reasons for MS exacerbation. Recently I did get the results from my latest MRI and that showed no change in my brain and cervical spine. But I know my body is worse off than it was in January. I think that is in part because I’ve struggled with my practice and because my MS is progressing. Did one begat the other? It’s kind of like they need each other to get better and they compound each other when they get worse… and so… the journey continues…
…..So when I moved to Victoria I needed a new neurologist and a new phase began. I’ve had lots of neurologists and most were lacking in any kind of bedside manor or empathy. I know that is generalizing and not a nice thing to say but that has been my experience. One was downright horrible.
So the Yang was my new Victoria neurologist. She spent the time to get to know who and what I was about. What I really like about her is that she engages me and allows positivity to exist in my being – not your normal neurologist. I’m still here living life, loving people, people loving me. There is always a positive vibe occurring when we meet. Optimism vs pessimism (yang vs yin).
I’ll take one optimism please.
We’ve had conversations that were not directly related to MS. I don’t know many people who look forward to a Doctor’s appointment – I do with this doctor. She was indirectly responsible for me finding yoga and later on suggested I teach it. Both these actions especially the teaching journey kicked off such an incredibly joyous part of my life.
You can’t see the light without the dark and I would never have felt the power of yoga without my experience with MS. I would never have met people who helped me on this journey. I would never have made new friends, introduced to a new community, or uncovered my inner self if it were not for MS.
Those are just some of the positives that MS provided to me, you just have to look. And I keep looking as I move forward on this journey.
Be safe
BTW:
I’m reading a book on Astronomy and working on my birth chart. It’s something I became interested in when learning how to teach Ashtanga in 2017 in California. It’s just a sliver of how my thinking has evolved and become accessible.
So far I’ve learned that my sun sign is Taurus, my moon sign is Libra, my element is earth, my modality is fixed, my overall polarity is yin. However my moon polarity is yang. The moon sign represents your inner most being. There’s a positive in that negative. Umm…….just sayin’.
Lastly a thought on James Tiberius Kirk: Ninety year old Canadian William Shatner took a 10 minute ride that brought him to tears as he saw how fragile our planet really is. Engage.