This week I began physical therapy school. In other words, in the span of a few days my world completely changed. I dove into serious studying, a rigid schedule, and much more sitting than I'm accustomed to. In truth, my body wasn't able to handle such a dramatic transition and routine.
On the third morning of my program as I was brushing my teeth, I bent over the sink, tilted my head, and felt something shift in my ear. I grew dizzy and held onto the sink to keep from collapsing. Having experienced this before I immediately knew that a bought of vertigo had begun. My first reaction was to sort out a solution to get through the next 7-10 days of dizziness and the accompanying side effects. I began to ask myself questions "How am I going to bike to school? How will I read my textbook? Will I feel nauseas in class? How am I going to survive this!?" After a few moments, I sat down and took a deep breath. I noticed that my hands were clenched, and the muscles in my face had tensed. My body had entered a fight or flight response.
Vertigo is an incredibly scary feeling. I liken vertigo to feeling drunk as in my experience my world spins, my eyes can't focus, and I have trouble holding onto concrete thoughts. Despite this feeling of uneasiness, I knew I would need to continue with school so that I wouldn't fall behind. Throughout the week, my vertigo continued and was accompanied by strong heart palpitations, my body's natural response to dizziness. In the past I would have felt deflated by this apparent setback. This time, with my proverbial yoga toolkit in hand, I knew how to take care of myself to manage the physiological and emotional responses of vertigo.
When life feels scary, or during transition when life feels uncertain and new, I return to gratitude. Pure gratitude, for life itself. Gratitude for breath. For 97 degree sweaty bike rides. For stomping in puddles. For tripping face first on rocks. For singing at the top of my lungs. For making a mess. For the opportunity to act like my goofy self and for the people who love me all the same. It's the practice of returning to the things I love that helps me get through life's challenges. I also like to ask myself, "What can I do RIGHT NOW that would make me smile?" Believe it or not I survived the intense bouts of vertigo. While it was a scary experience, practicing gratitude and relaxation techniques (along with plenty of dogly cuddle time) helped me to make it through, in a positive light :-)
This week, I visited Jack Kornfield's site for hints of inspiration on gratitude meditation. Click on the image below to visit Jack's site!
http://www.jackkornfield.com/meditation-gratitude-joy/