Applying Kung Fu to Physio

Doing physio exercises day after day can become a repetitive time suck if I allow it. As was mentioned in a previous blog, I had decided to listen to podcasts or audio books while doing physio to help keep me motivated.  Also, Mrs Kohut and I have been poking and cheering each other to keep us both on track and accountable. This helps immensely and I am so grateful! Thank you Mrs. Kohut!

On most days for the past month I have been listening to Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance while doing my physio routine. This is not an easy read at the best of times and has been tricky to concentrate on the content while counting and keeping track of reps and sets. I see this as a great way to also incorporate some beneficial brain exercise. I know that I will be needing to read or listen at least a few more times as much of the content is getting missed, but it has been a great introduction to the book. There are some days though that I just need the quiet and pure focus on what I am doing without the distractions. 

At some point while doing my physio exercises, I realized that I had started to utilize my Kung Fu training and was mindfully applying what I know to my physio routine. Working on forms over the years has given me great tools and the ability to be more aware of what is going on within my own body. 

I have been actively working on the following when doing my exercises and stretches:

• Isolate my abdominal muscles while working on the legs and core exercises. 
• Work at keeping my body relaxed while working or stretching a specific muscle group.
• Breathing consciously 
• Releasing between reps
• Executing reps with control
• Using proper technique and re-evaluating periodically
• Make adjustments for my body and be aware of what needs to be addressed with assistance from the physiotherapist.

Even though I want to get through the exercises as quickly as possible, I also want to do them correctly and get the most out of them. My knees may never be 100% but I am hoping to at least have increased strength, stability and flexibility. An injury may mean more than just a few steps back, but there is a vast amount of knowledge to be gained and applied as you work through and with the injury or chronic issue. I am not a fan of all the extra work, the process and the limitations these knee issues have caused, but I am thankful for the realizations and knowledge gained in many related areas. This process will be on going and I also know the benefits will flow into other areas of my life as well. 

Namaste

Mending a Relationship

Mending a relationship can be challenging at the best of times. My relationship with my mom presented some challenges over the years and I often wished for us to be closer. We didn't have the type of relationship where I was comfortable confiding in her. There were times growing up when we wouldn't speak for days due to a difference in opinion or rules that in my mind were never flexible. My mom was opinionated and strong willed. Dad was more even tempered, relaxed and a go with the flow kind a guy. A bit of Yin and Yang going on there. I tend to take more after my dad, so the relationship between my mom and I often consisted of some friction at times or I just stayed in the back ground to avoid conflict. 

Mom had qualities that I saw as negative, but those same perceived negative traits gave her strength, courage, and self confidence. Aside from those traits that caused friction, I knew her to be a person that stood up for what she believed in and she lead by example. She always adhered to a strong set of values and morals and was honest to a fault. If she realized after returning home from a store that she hadn't been charged for an item, she would go back to the store and pay for it. 

Mom loved shopping and was great at finding a bargain. She would buy months in advance of an occasion if it mean't getting a great price.  Gifts from her always had a lot of intention and thought behind them. She was the person that you would take with you if wanted to negotiate a price. Car salesmen met their match when she walked through the door. She was confident in asking for for she wanted, and to walk away, but was never insulting. She treated people with respect. I fondly remember a Mexican jewelry shop owner running down the street after her, to agree to her price on a piece of jewelry. She loved unique jewelry, bold colours and dressed very well when attending social functions.

Mom loved to bring people together in social gatherings. Dad and her were always having dinner parties and get togethers with family and friends. She had more sets of dishes than anyone else I knew. Different dishes for different occasions. I'd often go over and help her prepare for dinner parties. The cooking and prep work was something that we had in common and brought us together. Mom's side of the family was also big into playing different card games and they all usually involved small amounts of money. I do miss those times! 

My mom would have been 81 on March 11th this year. She passed away just days before her 68th birthday after her second battle with breast cancer. Her will to survive was an inspiration!

Her first experience with breast cancer was due to the discovery of a lump while doing a self exam. Turns out it was a very aggressive form of cancer which required a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. The treatments were considered to be successful. About 18 months later, mom ended up with a mild case of pneumonia and an x-ray showed a spot on her lung. Her cancer had metastasized. The prognosis was not good and she was given 12 to 18 months. 

Mom was always very determined to do whatever it took to either beat the cancer or at least extend the time that she had left. Due to previous issues with the chemo drugs, her oncologist suggested a cocktail of half strength given every 2 weeks for as long as she could continue going. She was able to do 14 chemo treatments and at the time was the first person to ever do that many in a row. 

Mexico was one of my moms favourite places to travel to. She loved the sun, the beach and the Mexican people and it was her wish for all of us to go together one last time. Off we went for 2 weeks in between chemo with a bit of an extension between treatments. I was trained on how to look after the injection site on her arm and we were loaded with the supplies needed. It was great having most of us together in Mexico. Wonderful memories and pictures!

There were always those few bad days after the chemo treatments, but as soon as she was feeling a bit better, mom was off living life. She continued to play Bridge twice a week and get together with family and friends. As things progressed she reluctantly agreed to start taking something for the pain. I remember stopping by to visit her one afternoon and found her laying in bed. It was a Bridge night and she was feeling pretty rough. I didn't expect that she would be going to play that night, but oh yes, she was determined to rest, take something for the pain and then planned on getting up to shower and get ready to go. And that is exactly what she did. I am still amazed whenever I think back on this. The perseverance, the determination and the desire to live her best life is something that will always be remembered. And my dad was a rock star! He drove mom whenever and wherever she wanted or needed to be somewhere. His support was unwavering. 

Right or wrong, those last 3 months were the most difficult for me. The physical signs were becoming more and more apparent. The loss of weight and the ever present shakes. This was not how I wanted to remember my mom. I didn't want this new image of her imprinted on my brain. She had made the decision to stay at home as long as possible and by the time she moved into a hospice care facility I found myself not wanting to visit as much. The long drawn out dying process that terminal cancer inflicts on a person and their loved ones is not fair and yet there are lessons in there.  

Not only did I miss out on the opportunity to apply some mending to the relationship with my mom, I also didn't complete the grieving process. Grieving was cut short abruptly due to a huge curve ball that required me to completely shift my attention and go into survival mode for the sake of my kids and myself. So here I am now mending the relationship as best as I can in my mind and my heart and hopefully completing or at least continuing the grieving process.

The following Hawaiian healing prayer (Ho' oponopono) was introduced to me by a friend many years ago and has been helpful in mending a relationship and to facilitate forgiveness.

https://graceandlightness.com/hooponopono-hawaiian-prayer-for-forgiveness/

Namaste

Trust the Process

My love of hand forms has developed gradually over the years. I smile now as I think back to those first 2 years in Kung Fu. Taxing my brain with learning and remembering Da Mu Hsing and then trying to incorporate both hands. My lack of coordination would have been almost comical if I hadn't been so frustrated at times. I remember Sifu Playter helping me with the arm circles in what was known as Kempo at the time and thought that I would never get the proper motion. Thank goodness for determination. If only instructors came with a pause button and a slowwwww motion feature! The Livestream videos we have now are a great addition! Coordination and memory are stumbling blocks for me so extra time and effort is always needed. Once I understand what I need to be doing, I then go home and work on it repetitively until it feels good and is cemented in my brain. And that sometimes takes an hour or more on just one little sequence. But so worth it in the end!

I remember being an orange belt and feeling like I would never move past orange. "Forever orange", I would say! And then finally a green belt! "Wow, now I'm on my way." Well, that was true, I was on my way. Just not the way I envisioned the journey to go. I ran into some blocks that had me feeling like I was up against a wall. It was perseverance and determination that kept me in the game. At the level of green belt there were so many gems of knowledge being discovered. I recall centering and shoulders being part of the equation and working on using both sides in 7 knife hands to help propel me forward. Then came blue belt and now blue belt feels a bit like the new orange, but with less frustration. Having the experience of orange and green belts in my tool box, I now have more understanding of the process and journey and am less focused on the destination.

Golden keys of knowledge are tossed to us all the time. Some keys just sail past us and others are recognized but not applied or fully understood. I remember finally applying a key in relation to the shoulders and the six harmonies. I had mentioned this aha moment to Sifu Rybak and also noted that this key of knowledge had been given many times over the years before being able to finally grasp it and unlock the vault. See..., the vault needs to be in the correct time and place to accept the key. I can only imagine how challenging and yet rewarding it must be as an instructor.  

By the time I earned my blue belt I could not have imagined the extent of how much more was to be discovered as I work towards brown. I know that our forms are one of the most important aspects of our training and we are told numerous times how they transfer over to all other aspects of our Kung Fu. Sifu Rybak has told me that she can see the transfer and improvement. I however had not felt this to the same degree until recently. It is easier to watch someone else and see the changes and improvement than recognize it in ourselves. It was just these past few weeks that I feel myself becoming more aware of concepts and truths from my forms transferring over to other areas of my Kung Fu. Sometimes that transfer happens automatically and other times I have experienced it as a mental awareness that occurs in the moment.

There is this amazing feeling I get when things click. Internally and externally. Compression, expansion, ease of movement, flow and power. All is right in the world of Kung Fu even if it is just for a second or more. As we advance, more and more knowledge becomes available and I look forward to even more discoveries.

Namaste