I love sound. I have parents who were both musical in one sense or another, and I myself always liked to move. When I was a kid, I'd do what I call "bed-dancing" -- basically, you move around your bed, on and off it, in a sort of interpretive dance, to whatever's on the radio.
When I got to college and joined the Society for Creative Anachronism, I started doing Medieval Dance with them. It helped my flexibility, and my strength, even more than when I was younger and doing just Bed Dancing. I also have learned a small bit of Bellydance! ( http://www.suite101.com/external_link.cfm?elink=http://www.middleeasterndance.ho )
Bellydance, as yoou can see, is one of those things you can do even sitting in bed. So right now, when I'm a little off kilter with balance anyway, it's perfect.
I just don't always remember that fact.
You see, within the past few years, I've moved to an area where there's less SCA Medieval Dance, and so over time have just given up on dance entirely. I only begun to watch dance shows last year. I'd sit in the rehab hospital and feel sorry for myself. I'd sit at home and feel sorry for myself, longing to be there with the guys on stage but "knowing" I couldn't do that.
However, in that same place, I had a great Occupational Therapist who started trying out Wheelchair Qigong. In case you don't know, Qigong is an Eastern practice, and is great for exercize; like dance, it stimulates your nervous system. If anything, it's a wonderful warmup! ( Qigong Association - Home )
I've started doing Qigong in bed this past year, at home. And every so often, I'll do some Bellydance in bed. Hah, I always had curves, but they're certainly accentuated! And my boyfriend loves that part.
...which I think ties with dancing. Dancing for healthy people is definitely a form of sexuality: look at the Tango or any other Latin dance; think about dancing in a club.
Now think about dancing in a club with someone in a wheelchair, with a cane, or a walker.
Is that inconceivable? No. I've done it; used to have tons of confidence about that. I used to flirt like there was no tomorrow on the dance floor, with and without a cane.
Just because you aren't used to something, I must remember, doesn't mean it's impossible.
So it hit me. I've been on a steady neurological decline over the past seven years, since I moved here, since I stopped doing Medieval Dance once a week and then sometimes a couple times a month.
Maybe I can't do some things now. I don't know how much damage the second stroke left behind, or the neuropathy flareups, and so on. It shouldn't matter, though. I can still do Bed Dancing, and Bellydance -- even Qigong is a form of dance! So what if it might look silly or feel crazy.
I love sound. I have parents who were both musical in one sense or another, and I myself always liked to move. When I was a kid, I'd do what I call "bed-dancing" -- basically, you move around your bed, on and off it, in a sort of interpretive dance, to whatever's on the radio.
When I got to college and joined the Society for Creative Anachronism, I started doing Medieval Dance with them. It helped my flexibility, and my strength, even more than when I was younger and doing just Bed Dancing. I also have learned a small bit of Bellydance! ( http://www.suite101.com/external_link.cfm?elink=http://www.middleeasterndance.ho )
Bellydance, as yoou can see, is one of those things you can do even sitting in bed. So right now, when I'm a little off kilter with balance anyway, it's perfect.
I just don't always remember that fact.
You see, within the past few years, I've moved to an area where there's less SCA Medieval Dance, and so over time have just given up on dance entirely. I only begun to watch dance shows last year. I'd sit in the rehab hospital and feel sorry for myself. I'd sit at home and feel sorry for myself, longing to be there with the guys on stage but "knowing" I couldn't do that.
However, in that same place, I had a great Occupational Therapist who started trying out Wheelchair Qigong. In case you don't know, Qigong is an Eastern practice, and is great for exercize; like dance, it stimulates your nervous system. If anything, it's a wonderful warmup! ( Qigong Association - Home )
I've started doing Qigong in bed this past year, at home. And every so often, I'll do some Bellydance in bed. Hah, I always had curves, but they're certainly accentuated! And my boyfriend loves that part.
...which I think ties with dancing. Dancing for healthy people is definitely a form of sexuality: look at the Tango or any other Latin dance; think about dancing in a club.
Now think about dancing in a club with someone in a wheelchair, with a cane, or a walker.
Is that inconceivable? No. I've done it; used to have tons of confidence about that. I used to flirt like there was no tomorrow on the dance floor, with and without a cane.
Just because you aren't used to something, I must remember, doesn't mean it's impossible.
I read an article today in Scientific American that just made me feel more intensely about this; it's what spurred on this article, in fact! ( http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-neuroscience-of-dance )
So it hit me. I've been on a steady neurological decline over the past seven years, since I moved here, since I stopped doing Medieval Dance once a week and then sometimes a couple times a month.
Maybe I can't do some things now. I don't know how much damage the second stroke left behind, or the neuropathy flareups, and so on. It shouldn't matter, though. I can still do Bed Dancing, and Bellydance -- even Qigong is a form of dance! So what if it might look silly or feel crazy.
It feels exhilarating.
NOT impossible.