Having just received a small amount of money from winning my court case in FL, I decided not to go to Denver for more followup (yet). I'm not emotionally stable enough to coordinate tests and flights and appointments and lodging... so I decided to get some sessions with my local certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. Carolyn Law has been doing this for 30 years and also has some massage therapy background. Her office is located in her home, in a funky-cool part of Atlanta. I'm hoping that 8-10 sessions will at least give me some relief and I can learn some things to get me thru till I get my SSD/Medicare.

I plan to use this thread to share what I learn with you all. If you have questions, maybe I can work them into a session for a qualified answer? Each session costs $80. She's having me journal - more for the puropses of getting my mind to think about the new things I'm learning. This thread will be my 'onlne' journal.

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to go to someone who KNOWS what I need. No worries about trying to explain what is the correct protocol for a rib resection/pec minor release/brachial plexopothy patient. She's on it!!

I'll be adding her contact info to the Dr's list Stickie. Or you can PM me if you want it.

Anne

Re-focus my efforts on making comfort a priority in my life. I MUST STOP if I feel a movement causing ANY pain. It's OK to occasionally try to push the envelope, attempts to gain VERY SMALL improvement, but at the slightest resistance or pain I must back off.

Carolyn showed me a breathing exercise: first sit in the most comfortable position possible, supporting my arms in front of me with pillows. I was at a desk, with cusions on the desktop and feet on an angled footstool. I was ergonomically correct, with my spine curved forward somewhat - resting arms on the cusions. Feel your 'butt bones' sink firmly into the chair. With an inhale, roll my hips forward, allow the spine to lift the ribcage slightly (were talking centemeters here) and lift the eyes as though following a mosquito crawling up the wall. It should only slightly lift your chin. Then on exhale, roll my hips back, pushing my back into the back of the chair. The bottom of my ribcage sinks into my tummy and my eyes return to looking at my arms on the cussions.

While doing this, notice how the spine moves. The whole spine should move or flex a bit - I shouldn't have any 'frozen' sections of the spine or ribcage.

For added relaxation, add a 4-step breath: at the top of the inhale, pause for several seconds. Then smoothly, exhale. Pause again at the bottom of the exhale. Notice how fluidly you can transition from the pause to the breathing.

This exercise is just that - an exercise. It's not meant to be done all the time or even every day - but meant to train my thoughts to notice the use of my spine and the flexing of my ribcage as they 'assist' me in breathing. There's an added benefit of plumping up my lungs, and becoming VERY CALM.
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After the session I forced myself to move very slowly and observe the no-pain rule. It was soon aparant that If I did this, I would be non-functional. It really made me aware of just how much pain I have been forcing myself to wor thru - just to appear 'normal'. The next day I noticed that the front of my ribcage (bottom most ribs) were sore! I also slept well enough that night to get som REM sleep - had the craziest dream! The soreness went away by the next evening.

Hi,

I too have been doing Feldenkrais here is the LA area. Its gentle and helpful. I look forward to comparing notes Astern.

I am a bit down tonight so maybe in the near future.

Hi Anne,
for my mother, feldenkrais is the one and only method to get relief and more agility.
She goes to a feldenkrais group once a week and has a DVD at home. Very useful for her after doing housework. She has got a totally new hip and after surgery the leg was worse then before. With the help of the feldenkrais exercices she can do more than she ever thought.
But she "tested" several feldenkrais teachers and she is of the opinion that one has to find out the person with whom you want to work.

Personally, I prefere the Alexander technique to Feldenkrais - nevertheless, I find it is a very very good method!!!!

All the best and enjoy your sessions!
Barbara

Fact: the wrist is more 'distal' (distant) from the core than your elbow. Your elbow is more 'proximate' (closer) to your core (center) than your wrist. The solar plexus/spine is your center.

I need to let my body do more 'proximate' work, using muscles/joints that are closer to the body. Use the large muscles whenever possible (glutes, stomach, back, thighs). Allow my spine to flex in a smaller, but more powerful way, as all other body parts are affected by it's slightest movement. Notice how while sitting, when I flex my spine from side to side (only a centemeter or so) by shifting the weight on my 'butt bones', it causes the rib cage to flex like a fan? The rib cage is not a rigid cage. It needs to flex to absorb shock from external pressures (like walking). Become more aware of how using my arms away from my body may cause a flare and how using the larger muscles whenever possible may limit my flares. I may need to change my center of gravity to acomplish a task to use more of the core muscles.

(NOTE: if you have RSD, this is NOT for you)
Icing: Use styrofoam cups filled with frozen water to back down a potential flare. When I am uncertain if a flare is coming on, I can try this. Peel some of the styrofoam away from the ice and rub the ice directly on the skin in a circular motion - briefly. Mop up any water with a towel - don't allow it to drip all over me. Repeat. If this does not back the flare down to a manageable level - start medicating!

Don't react. Don't allow the world to impact you. You should choose when and how to impact the world. This is why Carolyn does not turn her phone off durring a session and allows normal household noises to be heard. It trains the patient to not 'react' when a phone rings or a hammer bangs upstairs. It's a time to learn to tune out things that can interrupt my concentration or relaxation. It's those fast moves, the 'leaping up to get ___.' that will get me in trouble every time.

When I move (ex: getting out of a chair), my skeleton should move FIRST. Muscles are there only to assist the skeleton. If I can focus on this my muscles will have to do far less work.

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Shelly, I also am interested in your comments. Hope better days are in your very near future!

Feldenkrais massage and manipulation is so gentle, I LOVE IT! The practitioner moves your arm, not the patient. It's a little slice of Heaven feeling my arms move as they are supposed to - without the pain of ME having to do the work. It's like ... muscle movement without nerve pain! No stretching, no pulling, just gentle movement. Bliss...

Since my brain is having so much trouble simply shifting my weight from one foot to the other, we practiced doing it only on the right side for a while. While sitting ergonomically correct, palms up in my lap, I would push gently against the floor with my right foot. Feel the weight shift to my left 'butt bone'. My knee and thigh should initiate this action. Notice how the floor pushes back (equal and opposite reaction)? Now, make the push a little harder - this time as though someone would slide a piece of paper under my right rump. Notice how it causes the spine to lengthen just a bit. The neck lenghtens, right shoulder dips a bit and the head is lifted making me taller. This action causes my left ribs to flex open, like a fan.

Repeated on the left side for a while. Then alternated. It was a bit easier this go around, but still requires a LOT of concentration for me.

I learned how to walk: like a Bride going down the aisle. Hands holding an imaginary bouquet. Not quite pausing with each step but almost. The feet should roll from heel to ball of foot in a smooth action to absorb shock. Carolyn said this is known in Yoga as Buddahs' Meditative Walk. I like to think of it as how a Nun walks - more of a floating-glide, rosary in hands or folded in prayer about bellybutton level. When walking, the back leg 'pushes' me forward onto the front foot. (not the front leg pulling me forward) When doing this correctly, I notice how the side bearing my weight with each forward step is the side that the ribs are flexing open on.

I had previously been walking in a way that compressed the ribs on the side bearing my weight with each forward step - like a little old person with bad hips. Walking in this new way should help with core stability, ribcage mobility and I also notice my abs being a tiny bit flatter!

Moderation in EVERYTHING is key. No extremes. Carolyn talked about how Yoga has been Americanized into a competition. Rooms with temps cranked up to 97 degrees, to attain the most outrageous stretches... pushing muscles to their limits. This is not what the original Yoga was intended for. It was all about the individual and a moderate, harmonious wellbieng of the body.

Feldenkrais is NOT a race or competition. It's training in moderation. A TOSser's body needs this new mindset of comfort within one's own limits.

Here is another move I can do to stretch the nerves in my arm. While lying in bed on my back with an arm outstretched (palm neutral), roll my palm up and try to stretch the hand out a tiny bit, as if lunging with a sword like Erol Flynn. It should be a very small move of hand and arm, but feel it pull the entire shoulder, neck and head ever so slightly? Remember, everything is connected.

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I was really sore the next day after this! It wore off by afternoon without a flare.

The details and explanations are great , really gives a good picture to those of us that haven't seen it or tried anything like it.

Carolyn is at a seminar in Mexico this week, so no sessions.

One thing she did say to me is causing me some emotional turmoil: I need to baby myself. I need to treat myself with more care and love than I do. I should carry myself as though I were a small baby - cradling the head, supporting the spine, not asking myself to be placed in uncomfortable positions or stretching myself too far. I wouldn't do that to a precious baby, would I? No. But I continually place myself in these painful situations because...

... I don't feel like I deserve to be treated so kindly.

That's a pretty sad statement about how I feel about myself, isn't it?
(comments welcome) I mean, I do push myself sometimes because there's no other way to get a task done (nobody to assist me), but there are plenty of times when I could be nicer to myself, but don't.

I'm going to bring this up in Group tomorrow. I don't see a way to get around it at this point. I've been down on myself for most of my life (nothing to do with TOS), so developing a new attitude isn't going to come quickly or easily.


Thanks for letting me mini-vent.
Anne

Interesting...I think in general people who are not confident in themselves also tend to walk sort of slumped over and looking down- TOS in the making? Certainly not good for us, anyhow.

Women especially tend to always be worried about taking care of someone else, ignoring themselves. Realistically, like you mentioned earlier, we do all have to get up and take care of ourselves. If you have to push to get tha much done. then so be it...but realize it may slow your forward progress a bit. Remember, though, it is that way for everyone. Sure if we could go live in a bubble with the all knowing presence to look over us and tell us exactly what to rest and what to work, our rehab process would be faster. HOwever, real lif eisn't that way. It is important to slow down as much as you can to make as much forward progress as you can, but not living in the meantime is not the way to do it. So, take it all with moderation and just do your best.

Learning to love and cherish yourself in the meantime is a great start. Stand up straight, look others in the eye, and greet the world with a smile.

*hugs*

johanna

This session we talked about the 'Bride' walk, and how it is very comfortable to me. It seems to cause my pelvis to act as a shock absorber taking some of the strain off of my shoulders and collarbones. I noticed how this walk almost gives my gait the added stability of a tripod-like balance.

Carolyn said, "Yes! It's the ground pushing back at you. You are using gravity and the ground more now as something to support you as you walk. Ground, ground ground. Always remember to have the ground (or something touching the ground - chair arms, pillows, etc) supporting whatever limb is distal to your core as often as possible. Your hips and thighs LOVE using the ground to assist in supporting you. It's what their made for."

She then gave me examples of reaching, standing up, leaning out... but her example always had the hips and thighs doing most of the work and being the center of balance (ballast). Wish I had some pics of her - she's very lanky and delicate - like a dancer.

Now comes the best part of the session: she had me lie down with my normal pillow configuration. In her office it's a wedge and a fluffy pillow under my head, 2 elbow supports, a bolster under my knees and my feet supported on 2 smaller bolsters. MMmmm heaven. I did some slow deep breathing as she felt my ribs move with her hands. My guess is she was feeling that my ribs weren't flexing as much as they could at the inter-costals. She reached under the pillow to suport my spine and removed the wedge. I told her it was cutting off my breathing to lie like that so she supported my neck (windpipe) and spine in such a way that I was...

...LYING FLAT AND BREATHING LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!!

OMG, I have not done that in a decade!! I was able to take 2 really good breaths - and she stopped me, saying I could hurt myself by over-stretching the inter-costals (muscle/tissue between each rib: interior and exterior of the rib cage). But she was thrilled that I could do that and said all I needed was to get those sails to billow some. It felt really good! She said I might be sore later and I sure was, for 24 hrs I felt really sore - like when you discover new muscles from exercise. She then replaced the wedge. She helped me up really slowly and said I'd lose this new feeling in a little while.

She recommended a water class to me at the YMCA: "Chi-splash", a type of Chi-Gong (less 'arms away from the body' than Tai-Chi). She knows the instructor and is going to talk to him about me so that he's not expecting more from me than I can do. As long as I can tolerate the water temp, I'll try it.
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A side note: I woke up in the middle of the night after this session to go to the bathroom like normal... but I moved very slowly and balanced and counted the moves out very slowly.... it was bizarre.