Reflections on Illness Part 3

Day by day, week by week I am slowly improving and becoming more mobile.

I have started to really enjoy walking. Even when it’s been cold and wet, I walk in bare feet so that I can feel the 3 points of my feet evenly on the ground and the weight distribute evenly through my feet, up through my legs and into my hips and torso. Walking slowly and consciously in this way has made the process of walking a real meditation. And therefore a delight.

What has made it more delightful is the sensation freshly cut grass in the park and on the golf course (although, officially I was not walking on the golf course) under my bare feet. You get a whole foot massage every step. The pleasure that can be found from such small things.

I also tried a healing technique for my spine which yielded really good improvements overnight. Courtesy of a friend’s healer I placed 8 bay leaves between a layer of tissues (top and bottom) on top of a warmed up heat bag and lay on it for 14-16 minutes. It wasn’t entirely comfortable initially, however I noticed a positive improvement the next morning. I’m always open to new ideas. Thanks to Robyn and her healer.

I’ve also recommenced aerobic exercise in the form of swimming with a pool buoy. As I have grown up in water sport, it feels great to be back into the water and feeling the flow and movement through it. Over the last couple of years, and especially the last few months, I have really focused on exercising from a feeling perspective rather than being willful and trying to muscle things. I often describe this (when coaching paddlers) as paddling as a woman or embracing feminine energy – that is feeling, relaxing  and flowing with the movement rather than muscling it with aggression and tension. It feels wonderful. And is, more often than not, much faster.

And a swim in the ocean this morning between the buoys at Front Beach was very, very welcome. I have missed the ocean. It is very nurturing (more feminine energy).

It’s when we can’t do many of the things we take for granted that we realise how much we actually love them.