Permission to Heal from Parkinson’s

Dear Reader,

I am contacted daily by a number of people with Parkinson’s and some of them perplex me.  They want to know if I really practiced for several hours a day because they don’t have the time for that.  It seems to me that all serious chronic conditions are screaming at us to pay attention and to devote positive time and energy to making ourselves well NOW before any further deterioration occurs.  The “pay now or pay later”  adage applies so well here.  That job that seems so important can and will be done by someone else at some point down the road anyway.  I know, having been forced by Parkinson’s to retire from teaching. The good news was, within a year of retirement I had found qigong and begun recovery.

I think the ” no time” issue may be covering up something bigger- the question:  “Do I deserve to take the time to work on healing myself? What about my family, friends, co-workers, obligations, finances?”  What about them if the Parkinson’s continues to progress?  Why not try a time-out for jump-starting recovery? How about a good three months? Three months of several  daily hours of qigong to attempt to re-wire a lifetime of  neurological overload does not seem unreasonable. Had the diagnosis been brain cancer, and several months needed for treatment and recovery, most would not hesitate to find the time then.  Or had dialysis been necessary, time would have been taken from work.

I remember the difficulty I had in signing up for my initial introductory qigong weekend workshop. I had already been spending retirement funds on hiring someone to do the things around the house I could no longer do, like carrying boxes up and down stairs because  my balance was off.  My budget was tight.  But I decided, with coaxing from a friend, that just maybe this could help, and I was desperate for relief from pain and fatigue.  It was during that first Wisdom Healing Qigong weekend that I decided to sign-up for the China retreat to take place in three months time. I didn’t know that in the interim I would experience powerful healing and recover from much of the Parkinson’s condition before I ever went to China.

Truly, I believe that both decisions: to attend the workshop and to go to Guilin, China, were healing in themselves, prior to participating in the actual events. It was a huge deal for me to step up to the plate for myself. To realize that all the loved ones and responsibilities I was concerned about would be better served when I began to better serve myself!!

So I do understand the initial hesitation to take the necessary measures to support one’s own healing.  My mission is to encourage the undecided.  If you’re even contemplating my suggestion, you are listening to an inner voice that would serve you well in being further cultivated. “Just Say Yes.” Now is the time for you to care for yourself, your primary obligation on this planet.