Insights from Ruth Ann Penny

Where’s the Fire?

In my joints, is where.

Most days are good days, but every so often – zap! – the fire in the joints starts heating up.  I know now, as many of you do, the true meaning of the word INFLAMED.

One of life’s greatest lessons is the arrival of something unpleasant that you cannot avoid, cure or eliminate in any way.  Like a chronic health condition.  Like maybe arthritis.

I’m one of millions of otherwise healthy older adults who lives with osteoarthritis.  It’s taken up residence in my hips, spine and hands.  

The hips were the first point of entry and some nights the pain was relentless.  So I got the X-rays (my hips looked like something excavated from an ancient Irish bog!). Told that the hip needed to be replaced, off I went, unquestioningly, to find a surgeon.  

But at end of the pre-op work-up I was sent home.  I was deemed too mobile and in too little consistent pain.  My muscles were supporting the joints very well and range of motion was “superior” for my age.

That was three years ago.  

What happened?  

In part: luck of the draw.  In part: a consistent, gentle, mindful mobility practice. I could not believe that there was not something I could do beyond pop pills and wait.

So, I slowed waaaay down, really observed my limits and started exercising (gentle yoga of course, some Tai Chi, Somatic movement practices) with hawk-like attention to my limits.

And the pain started to ease.  I found ways to create just a teeeeeny bit more space in those joints so the grinding abated.  I settled my nervous system down by upping my breathing practice. 

Now I’m teaching others how to settle, breathe and move with more ease and confidence.  If you want to find out more, contact me.  Or come to a class – I teach a couple every week.

In the meantime, I’m sharing this audiophile with you from CBC’s Quirks and Quarks.  Interesting discoveries about the origins of arthritis.  Enjoy.  

And start moving –  just a little bit more.  Huge benefits!!

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/august-19-2017-1.4252722/skeletons-say-arthritis-isn-t-about-aging-it-s-about-activity-1.4252755

 

Take the next step and get moving again

Find out how Ruth Ann can help you regain your strength, movement and confidence.

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{Ruth Ann Penny is a superb teacher of yoga and therapeutic movement. She knows her subject thoroughly, and as my private tutor of the practice, she has been attentive to my particular needs with her always clear and calm instruction.
Allen
private student
{I used to have sciatica and pain in my legs sitting for many hours with my clients in counselling sessions. Now I don't have any pain anymore. The chairlift classes are so brilliant as they have realigned my hips which were the cause of pain in the first place. Doing movement work while sitting has had many wonderful benefits: it keeps my hips in alignment, it has increased my range of motion, and has created more space in the hip joint and the tightness, which was the cause of the pain in the first place, is gone.
Monique
Movement and yoga student
{Ruth Ann has been my movement teacher for a few years. I look forward to my classes and my private sessions, which are both informative and fun Instructions are always supported by scientific facts and I appreciate this.
Miriam
Chair yoga student
{Ruth Ann brought her excellent knowledge of anatomy and yoga to the assessment of areas in my body with limited movement as a result of past injuries and conditioning. I have felt confident and involved in the exercise program created to release old patterns and to improve movement. As I continue with our plan, I feel the difference it makes!
Liane
Chair and Mat yoga student
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