HOMESTEADING AND PHYSICAL DISABILITIES

[Marianne]

Catching my breath is my biggest enemy. Try exercising with a clothespin on your nose and breathing through a straw, that'll give you an idea of what COPD'ers have. So for me, everything is slow-go, dammit.

 

[flowerbug]

I was sedentary most of my life, unfortunately... but the last several years I've been getting more active and I can really tell the difference in the way I feel, both physically and emotionally. Tai Chi has been invaluable for my balance and core.

i practiced Tai Chi for several years with a great group of people but that was many years ago now. i miss it but have no desire to get into having to drive someplace to get exercise. back then i could walk almost everywhere but that was a small college town. here i am out in the country. instead of Tai Chi i garden and work on projects to make this place easier to take care of or to help with growing food.

due to past work and other accidents i operate on some limits, but i am doing much better the past 5 yrs or so since i found a chiropractor who could straighten me out. no pain pills needed. best medicine for me is digging holes here or there (and filling them back in with garden goodies or weeds or anything else i can scrounge up going in there too) or working on some project which involves movement.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

There was an elderly woman not far from me, years back, who needed to walk a lot but lived in the country, alone, didn't want to be on the little roads. So -- she walked the perimeter of her property lot!! They measured the distance and established # of times she needed to walk that lot for a mile. She walked every morning -- eventually, wore a path!!

Consider that. Or a treadmill from a 2nd hand store?

My MIL: lives on a short little dead end road. She often walks the length of her road (86 y.o.). She raises eyebrows when she'll casually mention that she's a street walker.

 

[Britesea]

BTW, you don't really need to practice Tai Chi with a group. If you don't remember the forms exactly, there are videos on Youtube that you can use as a refresher course. I have been known to do some of the shorter forms in the doctor's office while waiting for the doctor.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

About as attention grabbing as practicing your kegels while waiting in line at the store.

 

[Britesea]

lol there wasn't anyone in there when I did

 

[flowerbug]

i can do the small stuff no problem. i have the whole long form down on paper so i can patch that back together if i care enough - even only doing some of the warm up exercises are nice if i can get myself to do them. the problem is that i am a creature of habits and right now my habits are gearing up for hibernation.

i wonder how that looks on their security cameras!

i've always enjoyed watching martial arts demonstrations. i really wanted to pick up aikido and ba qua but i cannot do things that involve spinning around or going around in circles much so it turns out i can only watch most of it and admire it from a distance...

 

[Britesea]

The thing I like about Tai Chi is that you are doing things slowly enough that, if a particular move is going to hurt, you have plenty of time to realize it and adjust the move so it won't hurt you. And if you think going slow is easy, try doing a kick in slow motion... I guarantee it's harder than it looks!

 

[flowerbug]

The thing I like about Tai Chi is that you are doing things slowly enough that, if a particular move is going to hurt, you have plenty of time to realize it and adjust the move so it won't hurt you. And if you think going slow is easy, try doing a kick in slow motion... I guarantee it's harder than it looks!

i've spent a lot of time with it before. trying doing the long form in a forest sometime with all sorts of obstacles and also on the beach. very good places to improve your balance. then when you go back inside to a level floor you'll be amazed at how stable you are and how it feels. we would practice outside as much as we could in the warmer season. first session back inside you could see so much progress.

 

[Britesea]

plus no mirrors to watch yourself! You have to listen to your body so much harder outside