Rigidity in thought and body may go hand in hand. Rigidity can be many people’s main complaint when they are first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Keeping active, moving, exercise, and stretching are just a few of the tools to keep in mind when your body starts to stiffen up.
As we age, it gets easier and easier to become so convinced that there is only one way to do something. When we get to this mentality that there is only one correct answer, we may be shorting ourselves of new pathways and seeking new alternatives. The sooner that we accept the way we used to do a certain task may have changed, the sooner we can create a plan to identify and try a new method. Flexibility in body, mind, and attitude are necessary when considering what it is you want to tweak with your illness. Sometimes, it may take a slight increase in medication to improve your on-time and reduce symptoms of the disease. Sometimes, thinking outside the usual structure of traditional medicine can be fruitful.
Had I not incorporated reiki, massage, meditation, qigong, yoga, exercise, and reflexology, all in to my life, I honestly don’t know where I’d be. I can tell you this, at first, I was not a believer. It took a leap of faith and necessity to get there. Had I not gone outside my comfort zone, I would never have benefited from these various therapies
For those who question the true benefits of complementary therapies, I ask this: Don’t you think that these therapies might have some merit if they’ve been around for hundreds to thousands of years? Is skepticism holding you back from trying something new? Is it time? Is it money? What holds you back from exploring new options of helping yourself?
Adding a new practice, therapy, or routine to your health regimen takes some investigation, research, and commitment. Keeping positive and remaining hopeful are beneficial in whatever you choose to try.
Depending upon your choice of therapy, it may be important to confirm with your physician, neurologist, or specialist, just to be safe. I am not a doctor! I am a Parkinson’s patient of over 30 years that can declare benefit and relief from these therapies.
Adapt or die. Slowly and painfully. Karl is an example of living, of malleability. People always talk about slowing disease progression. Effectively adapting to disease progression, a controllable element, gets us to the same place, yet is hardly mentioned!