(Untitled)

[kennita]

Today I walked with Will. I tried to match him pace for pace. He didn't have to slow down much for me, but he clearly wasn't taking long strides. I felt like I was taking Paul Bunyan strides, and I used my walking stick for balance a LOT. I think I need to work on hip flexibility and rolling from heel to toe. I was very tired when I got home

Comments

being assertive?

[7patches]

some people find a critical tone of voice that I use very annoying.
I have often been criticized for that. It has been a serious liability in my career. It fit in well in my MIT social days, when I was around many people who did the same. I know I got it from my father. I never saw it as negative. My husband says I sound like a lawyer interrogating him (his father was a lawyer).

One of the factors is the voice going down at the end of sentences, including questions. I have always been a student of non-verbal communication and proximics, and this is powerful stuff. I have tried to remember to have my voice go up at the end of sentences, to sound more submissive and less definite.

Sometimes I think people should just trust me and take my words a face value, but I have to admit that I like being assertive.

Re: being assertive?

[kennita]

I think I do the voice up/down fairly well; it's the harshness and emphasis that I think I lose on. I think that as I become less critical of myself and of others, the tone will largely take care of itself. The rest I'll turn over to my years of drama training and my chameleon talent :-) .

One of my tasks is to recognize and allow for how much of communication is contained in things other than the words.

[nosrednayduj]

So I confess to being out of the loop and not even knowing what your physical limitation is and was caused by, but I wonder if you could do some kind of yoga or other not highly aerobic no-impact physical training to get flexibility back? One of the instructors at the yoga place I go to started yoga because of a physical injury and trying to find some way to get back in shape without reinjury, so there must be "yoga especially for the infirm" somewhere. Yoga is all about flexibility, but in my class it's also all about YOUR personal abilities, so there are people at all levels and abilities, and you're not supposed to worry about what the other person is doing. I managed "side plank" for the first time today, and fell after 2 seconds, but I was totally proud, even though everyone else was holding it for like 30 seconds. Yoga tends to be fairly cheap as these things go, I pay $12 for a 90 minute class.

[drewkitty]

It's up to Kennita to share details, but it's a neurological issue. Exercise certainly does help, but it's not a question of flexibility.

[kennita]

To a certain extent it is. For example, I have a hard time getting my foot far enough behind me to take a long step, which limits how fast I can walk.

[kennita]

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998. From being in a walker in 2000, I took a then brand-new treatment (Novantrone) that got me back to being able to walk (I'm currently stable, but definitely nowhere near 100%. I'm on permanent disability.

I figured out that yoga might be helpful. I'm going to try a yoga class come the beginning of the year. I'll be surprised if it's actually highly aerobic. The yoga classes I've been to are much more into deep breathing and relaxation than raising the heart rate.

[drewkitty]

*hugs* . . . I'm largely immune to your tone of voice, except when you inflict it on yourself . . . while you can do this if you want, it's not something I enjoy watching you do.

To quote a wise woman I know, "Be good to you."

[kennita]

I'm working on it. I did some Solstice work on banishing self-criticism, insecurity, and neediness. I'm finding it's working OK so far; we'll see how I do under pressure.

Now what wise woman would that be? ;-)

*Hugs!*