Egoscue Method, Day 4

Astoria, Oregon ~ November 1, 2010

The weather came in again, and it poured like crazy. Pouring rain has been alternating with cool and absolutely gorgeous days. But I chose Astoria. I really don't mind the rain. Here's what it looks like, though, serious puddles and no horizon line. I took these pix from the end of Doc's on 12th Street. I drove to the hair appointment that I used to walk to. I'm not pushing it yet. Although I move more easily and smoothly now, it will take some time for my stamina to come back. I've made progress since the end of May, but I'm not nearly there yet. It feels like a miracle because some things changed so fast, but I can't forget - it's still a process. It still seems miraculous, though, because it's happening at all. My condition had become so bad that merely washing my hair in the shower created intense back pain. So here I was, going to simply have my hair washed by someone else. I never thought that would happen, and although I deplore the reason, I am enjoying the luxury. Plus, I like Celestine a lot.

More rain over the edge of the pier. Note the little cormorant in the upper left. It seems quite at home.

It was not hard to convince myself to do the Egoscues today and I threw myself into it much faster, smoother, and without taking the breaks I've taken on the other days. In retrospect, it was a little too fast. I still felt all of the benefits afterwards, except that feeling of tiredness afterwards lasted for the day and I ached more. To be fair, I put in a full day of work, not only at the computer, but tearing up boxes and putting away inventory. It was a good day. I was still walking more smoothly at the end of the day, and I noticed that I didn't limp after emerging from the car or getting up from a chair. This is good. It's fantastic. Tomorrow I'll go slower with the exercises, try to remember to drink more water, and continue to get better. I already know from experience that I will have to push myself to take that 20 minutes to do something repetitive. Eyes on the prize. I'll need to remember that.

At the end of the day I went through the video rental with an unaccustomed freedom from back pain. My feet still have weird sensations in them, but the actual pain was almost gone. Ironically, one of the video guys dropped a DVD on my sandaled toes, and I yelped. My feet are sensitive, but at least the pain had not come from the inside.

This pic is for you, Francisca. I voted  :)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.