At my six month appointment, my doctor was very impressed by what I’ve managed to do. He did mention, however, that I should do more exercise. Once again, he recommended Yoga.

It’s confusing to me why doctors and nurses would suggest Yoga to people with MS as most of us have balance issues. While I was working on myself and working hard to get to a good place again, I had no balance. That came over time when my body was strong enough.

Lately, my balance has greatly improved. I’m able to ride on the bus standing up holding on to a pole if there are no seats. I’ve been walking without my cane for almost two months. I’ve been doing so well that when I was given a chance to try out Yoga this past Sunday, I went for it.

It was going well for the first few poses. I was able to hold my balance and do the stretches. It was as we were transitioning a position on the ground to a standing position that I started to have problems. I couldn’t move my legs. I tried to stretch them out, to see if I could bring myself down to the mat, but they wouldn’t do what I wanted them to.

I had done too much, had pushed my body past what it was able to do. As I tried to correct myself, I fell. I was up one moment and then I was down. I literally fell on my face and slid a little bit along the hardwood floor.

My glasses cut into my face cutting a slash of skin from it and I got burns on my nose and chin from the floor. I bruised my knees and wrenched my left shoulder. I left the class right away to get band aid and disinfectant and to soothe my wounded pride. At first, I was prepared to swear off exercise aside from walking. I should never have tried, never have bothered…

I stopped this train of thought almost right away. It’s not that I should never have tried. How else am I to find out what I am capable of? No, what I should have done is found a gym or studio or instructor that was qualified to deal with people with MS.

I should have done my research instead of just jumping in head first. Just because I have Multiple Sclerosis and Cerebral Palsy doesn’t mean that I can’t do anything I want to do. I can do almost anything I want to; I just have to be careful about how I do them.

So I’m looking into proper studios, Tai Chi, Qigong, stretches I can do at home. There are all kinds of alternatives to yoga; I just have to find the one that works for me.

I took a picture of myself when I returned home. Some of you may wonder at this, but it serves a purpose. It’s a reminder.  The next time I go to rush into something and not take the time to think about my health first, I will look at this picture and remember and slow down and think things through.