I came to Shepherd for rehab after an accident at work in December 2006 that left me that left me with a body of an incomplete paraplegic along with a tremendous amount of back pain, spasms and migraines. As time went on, I began to get more feeling and movement back, but along with this came even more severe back pain with unrelenting migraines. I was tried for months on several different medication regimens and things, but nothing seemed to be really helping. I was in so much pain and had so much muscle tightness and spasms, it made it hard to even function during the day or concentrate on anything other than the consuming pain. I began to get very frustrated as nothing seemed to really be working, wondering if this is just what my life was going to be like now. I was finally got my first referral from Dr. Jacquez to see Beverly Segel for medical massage and Dr. Blackwell in the Pain institute in September 2008. I have to admit, I was a little bit skeptical and unsure about whether this would really help, but at this point also willing to try anything, and I am so thankful I did.
My first medical massage was actually very painful, not what one would usually associate with the word massage, but I continued to follow-up and as time went on, my pain and stiffness and spasms began to lessen, and my migraines went from everyday almost all day to further in-between. I was finally seeing some progress and getting some much sought after relief. Then in November, we started to incorporate some therapeutic chair yoga into my 3-time-a-week appoointments. This really furthered my progress, allowing me to have better range of motion and stretch out areas of my back and body that were in great need, making walking with my canes much smoother and less painful.
I remember going home in December for a visit with my family, and they were so impressed with the progress I had made, saying how much smoother I seemed to walk with my canes and how I looked so much better. Well, I told them I what I had been doing and how much better I finally was feeling, and they were very impressed and encouraged me to continue. My two weeks at home, though, without massage therapy and therapeutic yoga, caught up with me real quick and I began to deteriorate and stiffen back up with increasing back pain and migraines. This just reaffirmed to me, how much this therapy was doing for me, and I knew I must continue for a better quality of life. I came back to Beverly even more determined to get better, and soon was able to progress to rope yoga at the end of January.
With everything back on track with massage therapy and therapeutic yoga, it was time to take my therapy to a new level. As most know, with spinal cord injuries, the bowels are greatly effected, and this is another area I had struggled to get into some sort of routine with my doctors. I got a referral for colon hydrotherapy in January, 2008, to get my bowels moving and clean out all the toxins built up over the last year. What a difference this has made in combination with all my other treatments. My headaches decreased even more and my back pain too. I go once a week to help clean out my colon and toxins, in conjunction with my other bowel regimen, and I feel so much better. My bowels move better with Enemeeze and the amitiza during the rest of the week now, allowing me to have more energy and less pain and pressure. I think this has also helped trememdously with my migraines, getting the toxicity out of my body.
This innovative therapy in conjunction with my medical therapy at Shepherd has greatly improved my quality of life. I do still have pain and may always, but it doesn't consume me anymore. I have even recently been able to start back to school in the past couple weeks, which I know wouldn't have been possible in the condition I was in 7 months ago. I am so thankful for my doctors at Shepherd who had the insight to give me a referral to Beverly Segel, allowing me the opportunity to have this adjunctive therapy, and in turn allowing me to improve and move on with my life. I hope that many more patients will be able to benefit like me and be given the opportunity to improve their quality of life. The medical therapy at Shepherd is wonderful and has helped me greatly, but I feel like Beverly Segel was the missing piece of the puzzle.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Examine the eight (ashtanga) limbs of Yoga regularly!
Classical Yoga consists of eight branches (Ashtanga)
Eight limbs of classical Yoga
1. YAMA – social ethics
Ahimsa – non-harming, non-violence, non-killing
Satya – truthfulness
Asteya – non-stealing, non-craving, non-possessiveness
Bramacharya – moderation
Aparigraha – non-attachment
2. NIYAMA – personal practices
Saucha – cleanliness and purity
Santosha – contentment
Tapas – self-discipline
Svadhyaya – self-study and study of scriptures
Ishvara Pranidhana – surrender to the Divine Will
3. ASANA – physical postures
Right posture in harmony with our inner consciousness. A balance between tension and relaxation. Ayurveda prescribes Asanas together with proper life-style practices to reduce/balance the Doshas and Gunas. The healing power of Asana best comes out if we perform them in such a way that our mind comes to rest and our Prana is released of physical stress. Very useful for promoting health and vitality and treating many diseases.
4. PRANAYAMA – breath & life force control
Prana, life energy, is a natural healing force that carries all the life-giving involuntary functions of the body. Prana mimics the mind and emotions.
5. PRATYAHARA – internalizing sensory perception
According to Ayurveda, physical disease arises from taking in unwholesome food, Pratyahara gives us control of the senses so that we do not crave wrong food. Impressions affect our emotions, Pratyahara moderates intake of sensory impressions. Mantra works with Pratyahara to still the mind.
6. DHARANA – concentration
Control of the mind so that we give all our mental energy at will to whatever we need to examine. Dharana involves developing and extending our power of attention through concentration on certain objects or ideas. Increasing powers of attention is important to all healing. ADD and depression are usually a form of diminished power of attention. The power of attention is the main energy gateway to improving the quality of life.
7. DHYANA – meditation or absorption
It is our capacity to sustain our attention without distraction. Meditation enables us to mirror reality and objectively perceive the truth of things. During Asana practice the inner stillness grows until you become absorbed in the harmony of the body, mind and prana. Meditation is a high state of awareness.
8. SAMADHI – union
Samadhi is the state of unity, it is the capacity to merge with things in consciousness that show our joy and fulfillment in life. It is the natural outcome of true meditation and the goal of all that we seek.
Eight limbs of classical Yoga
1. YAMA – social ethics
Ahimsa – non-harming, non-violence, non-killing
Satya – truthfulness
Asteya – non-stealing, non-craving, non-possessiveness
Bramacharya – moderation
Aparigraha – non-attachment
2. NIYAMA – personal practices
Saucha – cleanliness and purity
Santosha – contentment
Tapas – self-discipline
Svadhyaya – self-study and study of scriptures
Ishvara Pranidhana – surrender to the Divine Will
3. ASANA – physical postures
Right posture in harmony with our inner consciousness. A balance between tension and relaxation. Ayurveda prescribes Asanas together with proper life-style practices to reduce/balance the Doshas and Gunas. The healing power of Asana best comes out if we perform them in such a way that our mind comes to rest and our Prana is released of physical stress. Very useful for promoting health and vitality and treating many diseases.
4. PRANAYAMA – breath & life force control
Prana, life energy, is a natural healing force that carries all the life-giving involuntary functions of the body. Prana mimics the mind and emotions.
5. PRATYAHARA – internalizing sensory perception
According to Ayurveda, physical disease arises from taking in unwholesome food, Pratyahara gives us control of the senses so that we do not crave wrong food. Impressions affect our emotions, Pratyahara moderates intake of sensory impressions. Mantra works with Pratyahara to still the mind.
6. DHARANA – concentration
Control of the mind so that we give all our mental energy at will to whatever we need to examine. Dharana involves developing and extending our power of attention through concentration on certain objects or ideas. Increasing powers of attention is important to all healing. ADD and depression are usually a form of diminished power of attention. The power of attention is the main energy gateway to improving the quality of life.
7. DHYANA – meditation or absorption
It is our capacity to sustain our attention without distraction. Meditation enables us to mirror reality and objectively perceive the truth of things. During Asana practice the inner stillness grows until you become absorbed in the harmony of the body, mind and prana. Meditation is a high state of awareness.
8. SAMADHI – union
Samadhi is the state of unity, it is the capacity to merge with things in consciousness that show our joy and fulfillment in life. It is the natural outcome of true meditation and the goal of all that we seek.
Power Yoga with Beverley
We had our 2nd Power Yoga class yesterday. I hour of power. Even though "power yoga" is not traditionally Sattva style, sometimes we need to push a little beyond our threshold, or perceived threshold. It was a great class and I really enjoyed practicing with the 9 participants. Even though it is more vigorous, we were able to maintain our mind/body, breath link throughout. Shavasana seemed a little deeper and well deserved. One comment was that this week seemed more difficult than last week. Well, the goal is to go a little deeper and a little further so that we safely and incrementally stengthen our body/mind. I am confidant that this type of practice now and again will be healthy for all of us.
Neti Pots - what if you don't have one?
Neti pots are wonderful for clearing nasal congestion and keeping the nasal passages clear of atmospheric debris that we cannot help breathing in. But, what do we do when we don't have one and need to clean the sinuses? We can use a funnel, I had to in an "emergency" and it worked great. The pressure was high and the funnel end easy to insert into the nostril, not expensive (about $1), unbreakable and easy to clean. Also, if you are really congested a bigger funnel will provide more flow. I guess, 5000 years ago in India, the neti pots were hollow reeds anyway, who knows? If you decide to use a funnel, mix the warm salt water in a jug, place your finger at the end of the funnel, pour water into funnel and then insert end into your nostril gently ----- enjoy the wash! Remember to use non-iodized salt in body temperature clean water. The water should mimic your tears, our natural nasal passage cleaning fluid.
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