10 months post surgery update NEWS

It has been 10 months since my total hip replacement revision surgery - and almost 2 months since my last blog post. Here is the latest on my progress. I'll discuss the news, then the better news.

News -
I am still struggling with full use of my right hip. Muscle atrophy as a result of the metal ions that leaked into my hip area, have caused some external hip rotation issues that continue to plague me. I'm getting more strength little by little, but it is a slow and frustrating process. Thank goodness for my Acupuncturist Lester Bahn - his 2x monthly sessions continue to break up scar tissue and improve my circulation in that area. I can now go for almost two weeks between sessions and feel relatively normal. Stairs are still a struggle and some standing yoga poses test my strength limits. Hiking and being on my legs for an extended period of time causes a lot of discomfort and frankly is not worth the pain and suffering for days afterward. Hoping that gets better so I can get to Yosemite again and enjoy a day at Disneyland!

As a result of the revision surgery, my right leg is now about 1/2 to 5/8 longer than my left leg. The surgeon was unable to put the new prosthesis in at the same angle as the last which resulted in a significant leg length differentiation. Because of this, my hips are out of alignment and my sacroiliac joints hurt most of the time. My sciatica on the left side has been flaring up as a result of the issue and has been causing me some pain. I've had to have most of my left leg shoes lifted by 1/2 inch to compensate. This is starting to ease some of the discomfort in my back, but seriously limits the kind of shoes I can wear. No more sexy high heels for me!

Better news - 
With the help of a Senior Iyengar Teacher - Manuoso Manos, I have been working with my atrophied muscles and they are getting better! My knees feel better and I can move in and out of my Yoga poses more easily (still not great - but much better)  :) This is such a relief because I was almost ready to give up my standing pose practice as a result of all the pain I was having on the right side and SI joint.

I'm back to teaching at the YMCA (4 classes a week) and started teaching a Mature Learner class at UCR. I'm slowly starting classes at my home studio (as I feel better and stronger and more capable of teaching additional classes). I won't be looking for a new place to lease for a "real studio" for a while. I am just not healed enough to sign an extended lease and stress my body by teaching more and running a business. Maybe in 2014? Who knows?

I do know that I am a little anxious about starting another studio for fear that something will go wrong again and I'll have to close another studio. I feel like my initial momentum has been completely interrupted - and getting that sense of purpose and drive back to open my studio again eludes me right now.  I'm hoping it comes back about the time I am healed so I can re-open my studio and work towards a fulfilling and financially secure future.

Until then, I'll keep working on my own enlightenment. Pushing through the mental chatter that tries to sidetrack me and push me down the path of negativity. When those thoughts come up - I've learned to breathe and think how blessed I am that I came out on the other side of this whole catastrophe. My surgeon told me at my last visit about a lady in Canada who died from the metal poisoning from her metal on metal hip. Yes - my story could have been much worse - although there are times that I want to give up especially on days when my body feels 800 years old.

Will I get all my strength back? I don't know. Will I re-open my studio? I don't know. I will persevere - that much I do know.

Namaste' Friends.

Heavy Metal...Yoga rocks

Since my last post I received results from my recent lab work . The news ROCKS :)

I've been requesting lab work every 3 months to see how the metal levels in my body are doing since my surgery. If you remember, my Chromium and Cobalt levels (metals that were sloughed off from my metal on metal hip replacement prosthesis)  were the culprits in causing the metallosis in my body. The metallosis is what was causing inflammation,  pain, and tissue and bone destruction on the right side of my body. Well the good news is my Chromium levels are normal and my Cobalt levels are just just slightly elevated. YAY! I have been so worried about what harm these metals continue to do to my body and what long term affects they may have on me going forward. It's somewhat reassuring to know that my body has successfully purged the toxins - of course there is still the worry of the long term affects - but hey - I will live in the moment and be happy with the lab results.

I owe some of the purging of these metals to my constant yoga practice. Throughout this ordeal, I maintained a practice (even if it was only one or two poses) to help my body get rid of all the bad stuff (for lack of a better word) resulting from the metals and the after affects of surgery.

Especially important in my recovery process and toxin purging  are the Yoga twist postures. Twists act like a sponge - in the sense that the twist poses squeeze and then soak the organs and tissues. New blood and oxygen are able rush in to nourish those areas thereby allowing any built up toxins to be released and eventually eliminated from the body. Twists keep the organs and tissues soft and flexible so that each area is better able to carry out its "job" as it was designed to.

In today's sedentary lifestyles (TV, driving, school, sitting at desks, video games, texting etc...) our body doesn't move and twist like it should and the organs and tissues harden, shorten, and and eventually find it more difficult to carry out their essential duties. Twists (and Yoga in general) keep the body supple, flexible and balanced.

Yoga is a powerful tool for rehabilitating the body and the mind. My lab results are just once example of how Yoga can assist us in our pursuit of a healthy body, mind and spirit.

Namaste'

Happy New Year - and other good things for 2013

We'll it's a new year - YIPPEE! I don't want to ever sound unappreciative of the life I've been given, but I'm pretty sure that I could have done without the 2nd half of 2012. So as I ponder about how thankful I am to be kicking 2012 to the curb, I also realize the many lessons I have learned, the good people I have had a met over the past year and how fortunate I am for my family and friends.

let's start with the lessons I've learned:
1. Sometimes a fresh start ends up being a quick ending.
2. As you get older, your body does exactly what it wants to - regardless of all the things you do/did to prevent those things from happening.
3. Patience really does have its rewards - even if they do take too friggen long to get there!
4. If you're a person who has always persevered in the things that you want to do and come hell or high water managed to muscle your way through to make your goal, eventually you will encounter something you can't just muscle through. So stop torturing yourself and accept it - continue to persevere - but understand that it will take longer than you want to reach your goal this time.

 The Good People I've met - during the two and 1/2 months that I had my studio open I had the good fortune to meet some amazing people who were Yoga enthusiasts. Many of them still keep in contact with me and I am grateful for their kind words and actions through all my drama this past year. In general I've come to find that my Yoga peers and friends are probably the nicest people I've ever met in my 51 years.

My Doctor - Dr. Donaldson, who I am grateful for, for removing the poisonous prosthetic from my body and his ever encouraging words about how well I am doing. He is a kind man, who is very busy - but his bedside manner and gift of his undivided attention to me when I am with him, make him an extraordinary person in my book.

The Physical therapists at beaver Medical Clinic - who were challenged with my unique situation, but kept looking for answers to why my recovery was not progressing as quickly as it should have been. They were real professionals who inspired me to work hard and lifted my spirits when I did not want to work at all!

Friends & Family - who have seen me at my best and worst this year. My daughter Olivia and Husband Jay who bore much of the brunt of my care after the surgery. They have put up with my miserable sick self, sad and depressed pathetic self and my angry and pissed self for a good part of the second part of the year. Both of them never complained and graciously loved me through the good and bad. For that I am eternally grateful. I love you both!

As for my friends - and you all know who you are - thank you for your never ending words of encouragement and listening to my pathetic tales of woe during my recovery. You never complained about my incessant whining about this and that and how unfair life was. I love you.

Lastly - my Yoga students. You never ever questioned that I would be back to teach you Yoga again. You all knew I would be (even when I thought no way for sure) and you waited until I was better and able to teach you - and you know what? You all came back. Thank you - this means more than you could ever know.

So in spite 2012 being a mixed bag of adventures and life altering events - it turned out that there was much I needed to learn to help out in 2013!

Namaste'

6 months post surgery - status update

Wow - It's been 2 months since my last post. Time really does fly when your trying to recover from THR revision surgery. I'll give everyone a little update.

Today is exactly six month post surgery. For the most part I am recovering well - with a few hiccups - but according to my surgeon - things are going along great. He looks at me with great pride at all the things I am doing - he is quite proud of himself. HA!

I , on the other hand can't wait until I feel completely normal again. Not to say that I'm not cycling again, practicing Yoga and resuming my normal activities - because for the most part I am. But, I'd be lying if I said that everything feels perfect and that I can do everything I want to - because it doesn't - and I can't. I still have aches and pains in that hip and back area - which of course freak me out (is this hip not working either? Are my muscles ever going to be right after all that metal in the tissue? What other damage did the metal leakage cause?). My strength level is still lacking in that buttock area and my sciatica is bothering me. Dr. said this is all normal, that the soft tissue will take up to 1-2 years to completely heal after the invasive surgery he performed and  scar tissue will cause the sciatica to flare up (lovely!). I guess the most worrisome of it all is what long term affect the metal will have on my body and what will I do in 20 years when this revised hip prosthetic wears out? They can't really do a third replacement on the same hip so it may be the scooter for me!

I'm getting restless! I need to make an income to help my family out financially! I realize I need a purpose during this crazy time in my life - so I can stop worrying about things that might happen or that I can't control!

So, I'm planning on returning to the YMCA to teach part time after the first of the year. I begin teaching a class for Seniors at the UCR Extension starting in January as well as a class at an assisted living community in San Bernardino. My doctor advised volunteering to teach until then to see how my body will react to the teaching and being on my feet etc.

I can't foresee me re-opening my studio at least for another 6 months. My body is just not ready for that. I also am not ready to make that commitment in case something goes wrong during recovery at this time. As disappointed as that makes me - I know that I need to be patient with my healing. Now is NOT the time to move forward with that decision. I'm hoping that by my one year anniversary I  will feel better (mentally & physically) and sufficiently recovered to make long term career decisions about my future.

Until then, I'll go with the flow. Practice acceptance and patience and be grateful with my progress each day.

Namaste'

Mindfulness in Action - is that an Oxymoron?

We've all heard talk about mindfulness. Usually it is used in the context of being mindful of what you are doing at that moment. Being present with the task at hand. This week's blog is about mindfulness, but also about being present. Because it is my belief that we can be mindful but yet still not be present.

This week's musing from me comes after a moment last week when I found myself doing the billion (ok a slight exaggeration) of physical therapy exercises that I have been assigned to help with my recovery. I was doing those exercises and it occurred to me that while I was focused on the task at hand (mindful) I was rushing through them just to be on to the next exercise so I could finally be done.

I realized that we as humans are always rushing everything we do so we can get to the next thing. As a result we're really not present in the moment. If we're constantly rushing to get to that next thing, then we haven't taken time to enjoy this thing we're doing. For instance, how many of us rush in and out of our yoga poses so we can hurry up and be onto the next one or so we can be done? We're mindful of our poses, but we're not really present because our mind has already moved onto the next pose or a more likely thought, "Are we done with this pose yet, because I am dying!!!!!"

 Yoga is about quieting the mind and being fully present in each moment. Sutra 1.2 of the Yoga Sutras, "Yogah cittavritta nirodha". Loosely translated as "Yoga is the quieting of the fluctuations of the mind." Yoga is the mental discipline of being fully present and mindful in everything we do. Stopping external and internal chattering and becoming one with our soul.

This week's sequence - Mindful Standing Poses. Practice being fully present in each pose. See how your poses change as you mind becomes quite and your body and mind respond to that quiet.

Swastikasana (easy cross leg pose)

Tadasana - (Mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (upward hand pose)

Gomukhasana (cow face pose - arms only)
Vrksasana - Tree Pose
Garudasana - Eagle pose

Trikonasana - Triangle pose
Parivrtta Trikonasana - Revolved Triangle pose - use a block on the inside of foot (helps with stability)

Virabhadrasana II - Warrior II - back foot at the wall (Make sure forward leg is in a 90degree bend and knee is in line with hip - back leg straight).
Utthita Parvakonasana - Extended side angle - back foot at wall. (Make sure forward leg is in a 90degree bend and knee is in line with hip, back leg straight). Hand can be on a block.

Ardha Chandrasana - with block at the wall (half moon pose) or with chair
Adho Mukha Svanasana - Downward facing dog pose x 2
Sirsasana - headstand - (only if you have done head stand with me or a capable teacher)
Salamba Sarvangasana on a chair - if you don't know this pose or have a chair you can use then substitute with:
Setubandha Sarvangasana - supported bridge pose with block under the sacrum.
Savasana - corpse pose - 5- 10 minutes (don't cheat yourself out of this quiet time)

Namaste'

Life is a work in progress...learn to practice compassion.

Since my last post, (much too long ago) many life obstacles have gotten in the way of my yoga practice. It's easy to chastise myself for letting these things derail me. It's also easy to blame others for their "drama" that I allowed to invade my life and rob me of my yoga time. But that's not fair to me or to them. So I have to learn  compassion towards myself for not doing what I set out to do (my yoga practice) and realize that I chose to spend my energy being part of their drama.

That leads me to this week's blog post. Life is a work in progress. How easy it would be to say you were going to do something and then without fail do it consistently from that moment on. Imagine what that life would look like!  Actually, I can't imagine what that life would look like. Because it's the life "obstacles" that teach us the most important lessons in life and help us to search deeper inside.

Life is a series of events, adventures, misfortunes, blessings, good intentions, successes, failures, observations, stress, love, grief, humor, sadness, impatience, embraces, guilt, drama, rejections... you get my drift. Life is never what we intend it to be. We can get close to our intentions and often times see our greatest dreams come true. But still in the midst of all of that, things happen which we have no control. So we find ourselves adjusting our "plans" and moving forward.

When life throws you obstacles, learn to adjust and practice Compassion. In Yoga, Compassion ( a fundamental tenet)  teaches us kindness and caring toward others and ourselves. The practice of Compassion allows us to forgive when things don't happen as  planned. Compassion transforms the energy that we expend into positive expressions of love and caring. Practicing compassion isn't easy. It takes mindful intention - which is no easy task. When confronted with a life obstacle - stop, examine your thoughts for judgment or insensitivity, then breathe. Ask yourself, is this really a big deal? Or am I making it a big deal?IS this person just being human (like I am) in all our imperfectness? Smile, mentally wish them kindness and adjust your expectation.

This weeks sequence - Compassionate Forward bends (if you have any questions on the sequence please let me know I can help!!!!) Bolded poses for a shorter sequence or if you consider yourself more of a beginner.

Swastikasana - easy cross legs (3 ohms)
Tadasana - mountain pose
Urdvha Hastasana - Upward hand pose
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana - Hand to big toe pose (with strap or foot on a chair or both)
Trikonasana - Triangle
Parsvottanasana - intense side stretch pose with blocks under hands concave back
Uttanasana - intense forward stretch with blocks under hands concave back
Prasarita Padottanasana - wide spread apart foot pose with hands on block concave back
Adho Mukha Svanasana - downward facing dog pose
Sirsasana - head stand - (only if you do head stand)
Halasana - plow pose on chair (please use blankets and straps as you learned from me - safety is of utmost importance)
Dandasana - staff pose (if your back rounds sit on blankets)
Urdvha Hasta Dandasana - upward arm pose in staff pose
Urdvha Mukha Dandasana - upward facing pose with hands to big toes or using a strap in staff pose. concave back.
Upavistha Konasana - wide legged seated angle pose. Sit straight
Baddha Konasana - Cobbler pose - or bound angle pose. Grab around feet or use a strap around feet
Pascimottanasana - intense forward bend - use strap to reach feet with hands and keep a concave back
Savasana - corpse pose (10 minutes)

Namaste'

Home practice - for me and for you!

Since I last posted I feel as if I have cleared a giant mental hurdle. I feel more positive and ready to move forward with my life. Not everything is perfect - that is certain. I'm still not teaching, the future of my studio is still up in the air, and my physical limitations prohibit many of my usual life activities. But in spite of these issues I've decided to jump back in to whatever normal activity I can muster (or endure at times)- albeit at a modified level.

I've begun to re-read Mr. Iyengars book, "Light on Life". It has inspired me to re-start my home practice. Not just in the sense of physical postures - Asanas, but also to practice awareness in my life. Observing who I am through my thoughts, words, and actions. How do they serve me? What can I learn? How can I affect the world through them? What can I practice getting rid of and what do I want to keep? Being vigilant and aware is difficult at best - but in doing so I can practice ways of finding peace within myself and ultimately having a "peaceful" effect on the world.

Asana practice is the way to look inside of who we are.While we start Yoga for the physical aspects, the residual effects are the deeper understanding of who we are at the core - our soul.  In the Iyengar yoga discipline, we create a detailed awareness of each movement - nothing is coincidental - every body movement is made with a purpose. These mindful movements and actions provide each student with brief glimpses inside as we penetrate the layers of our physical body and move toward our spiritual body. Practicing the postures with awareness, kindness and honesty open us to endless possibilities as we learn to overcome our actual and perceived limitations and lead us to the light of our life - our soul.

As a bonus to those of you who follow me on my blog I am going to start including a practice sequence with each posting. This weeks sequence is a standing sequence. Do as much or as little as you want (the  highlighted poses create a shorter sequence if you're time pressed) , please use props when you need them (let your ego go- this is the honesty and kindness part of your practice), but make sure that you always do Savasana (corpse pose) at the end for at least 10 minutes.

Standing Sequence

Swastikasana (easy cross leg pose)

Adho Mukha Virasana (downward facing hero pose)

Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing Dog pose)

Tadasana - (Mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (upward hand pose)

Gomukhasana (cow face pose - arms only)

Pascimo-namaskarasana - (back of the body prayer pose)

Trikonasana - (Triangle pose)

Virabhadrasana II - (Warrior II)

Ardha Chandrasana - at the wall (half moon pose)

Prasarita Padottanasana - concave back (spread apart foot pose)

Sirsasana (head stand - only for those students who know how to do this)

Chatush Padasana - (four footed pose - similar to bridge pose but shoulders and head on the floor)

Salamba Sarvangasana - (shoulder stand - only for those students who know how to do this)

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana - with medium block under sacrum (Bridge the whole body pose - this is an acceptable alternative to shoulder stand)

Savasana - (corpse pose)

Namaste'