January 24 - Standing Corrected

I stand corrected. After my last post, Darlene told me that our pose in the photo was actually a warrior stance. She thought that this was appropriate for someone trying something new. I must admit that I am quite hazy on the labels attached to the different yoga positions.  Mostly I am just trying to keep my balance.  

As well as standing corrected, I wonder if sitting corrected can also be an expression. At our session on Friday, there were a couple of times when I was seated as Chris, our instructor adjusted my foot position to suit the yoga pose.

I would much prefer being corrected than to blunder along making the same mistakes over and over again. Thanks Darlene and thanks Chris.

Today I also want to thank Andrew who proof reads my ramblings before he posts them on this blog. Andrew, you are a great son-in-law.

 

 

January 22 - Something New

Not so long ago, I was speaking on the phone with my friend, Darlene. We talked about what was going on in our lives since we last spoke and Darlene happened to mention that she had recently started attending a chair yoga class. She felt the exercises were beneficial for her. Then, and this was key for me knowing that I no longer drive, she offered to pick me up if I wanted to attend the class with her.

I was hesitant. I felt a little nervous about jumping into something new, especially as that something new was in person. Would I be able to see and understand the instructor? Would he give enough verbal cues so that I would be able to follow directions without actually being able to see? How would I feel about walking into a room where I didn’t know the set up? Would I even be able to find a chair without tripping? I already knew that I wouldn’t want to draw attention to myself by walking with my white cane over the flat floor surface of the auditorium. The final consideration was COVID. Basically, Lyle and I haven’t been anywhere with a group of people in the last nearly two years. We are both double vaccinated and have had our booster shots, but would I feel safe in this new setting?

In the end, I decided to give it a try and last week I attended my first session. Darlene was great. She introduced me to the instructor and I explained that I had limited sight. At this point, Darlene and Chris made sure that I had the chair closest to the instructor – although still maintaining the six feet apart ruling. The lights had been dimmed on the outside of the circle of chairs. I was a little intimidated by this but felt more secure once I was seated.

I was glad that Chris started the session with breathing exercises. This beginning really helped to calm my anxiety and by the time he segued into the first exercise I was able to concentrate on the various movements. The movements were aimed at strengthening the different body parts and improving balance. This might sound very basic to those of you who have taken yoga before, but it was all new for me.

As for my questions! Well, I did feel safe in this in person setting. Darlene guided me to a chair and Chris gave excellent verbal directions. I did have some trouble understanding one exercise which involved some sort of foot roll, but otherwise, I think that I did okay. At the end of the one-hour session I felt quite relaxed and more confident about fitting in with the rest of the class participants.

This past Friday I attended my second session. It is exciting to be looking forward to something new and I am grateful to Chris for his excellent directions and to Darlene for encouraging me to move out of my comfort zone.

There is a picture with this post. Darlene and I are standing in the beginning of a yoga tree pose – at least I think that is what Chris called it. We are standing with our feet slightly apart. Our feet and upper torsos are turned slightly to the side. Our arms are stretched out to the side. I learned yesterday that my arms can get quite heavy if I hold them out for any stretch of time.  From my initial experience, I think that yoga can be a good work out. I think I will go back again!

 

 

Darlene and Sue in tree pose

 

January 13 - Partial sight

Not so long ago, a friend asked if I had central or peripheral vision. I had to ponder this before I could answer. While the question was absolute, the answer was not so clear-cut. I tried to explain this to my friend but partial sight isn’t easy to define.

Sight is difficult to explain. How could I tell my friend that while I might see well enough to pick out a shiny piece of paper on the floor, yet I might not see the side of a truck parked across my pathway. I suppose that for the most part I don’t have central vision. I can’t see the print on a page or the expression on someone’s face, but this doesn’t mean that my peripheral vision is clear either. I see differently from each eye and differently again from each part of the eye. I think that I see more clearly from the lower part of my eyes because I find that wearing a face mask cuts down on that part of what I see. Having said that, often I don’t see small objects – fire hydrants, dogs, little children – when they are right in front of me.

I see better, or at least think that I do, in familiar surroundings. Perhaps my brain is just telling me that I can actually see what I know to be there. I don’t see as well if I am tired or unwell. I see bright contrasting colors more easily than muted tones. I see better in bright lights but am often confused by shadows. I wonder if what I see is a flat image or actually a solid shape.  Lyle is often startled when I jump at shadows.

I think that the range of terms we use to describe partial sight is another indicator of the difficulty in defining vision. We use terms like limited sight, visually challenged, partial blindness, partial sight, legal blindness, low vision, vision impairment, and sometimes, just blindness.

Recently I read a book where the author had completely lost her sight due to an injury. However, after a prostheses was inserted into the one eye she regained light perception in the other. She was able to distinguish between light and dark. She could tell if the lights in the room were turned on and could see whether it was night or day. How would you describe her sight? Because she could see something, was she blind or could she see? Would partial sight adequately describe her condition? If so, could we use that same term of partial sight to describe what I can see which is far more than light perception?

It is a conundrum! The vagaries of sight are definitely individual. Vision can be measured by the tools in the office of an optometrist or ophthalmologist, but the lived experience of partial sight is obscure to be sure.  Partial sight can only be measured on an individual basis and is also measured by how that individual deals with the uniqueness of his/her partial vision.

 

January 4 - Braille

What do you know about braille? I confess that my own knowledge of braille is basically theoretical. Sure, I know that the series of six little raised dots can be arranged in specific patterns to represent the letters of the alphabet, but as to practical use, I am a klutzy novice.

I have never been able to master the braille alphabet myself. This was in spite of the rather abrupt direction of the first ophthalmologist I consulted when my sight changed. In no uncertain terms, he told me that there was nothing he could do for my sight and that I should go home and learn braille. This wasn’t quite the empathetic response I needed at the time and I’m afraid that his advice floated over me in the emotional upset of my sight loss.

Although the system of braille dots itself has remained basically unchanged over the past couple of hundred years since Louis Braille conceived of the idea, the technology has advanced dramatically. No longer do people with sight impairments need to struggle with slate and stylus. There are braille keyboards and braille electronic notebooks and other modern braille devices. If you are interested, you can check some of these out on the Humanware website:

Humanware.com

I have written this post today because it was on January 4, 1809 when Louis Braille was born. Today the date is celebrated internationally as World Braille Day.