“Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! (Turn and face the strain.) Ch-ch-changes…” – David Bowie

In other words, Adjust. Adapt. Align. Everything changes, so instead of lamenting and complaining and grieving *what was*, one must deal with *what is*. “Turn and face the strain.” Yeah? Then what?! 

Adjust. Adapt. Align.

Life is a series of course corrections, of righting yourself and getting on with “The Here and Now.” Adjust to the situation. Adapt to the world, (or adapt it to you!), Align yourself with your ideals. In yoga you align yourself with yourself. For instance, aligning your knees directly over your ankles, your hips directly over your knees, and your shoulders and head directly over your hips. Or, if you have no real reference point, you can always square your hips to your mat, or the front of the room, or some such.

Adjusting, Adapting, and Aligning is a way of being present and aware and dealing with the here and now, even if you don’t particularly like it. Hell, sometimes because you don’t like it. Change is stressful. Adjust. Adapt. Align. At the very least, it gives you a reference point, an anchor point, a jumping off point.

A real-world example

Allow me to give you an example from my own life. I have always been independent. I could do anything I set my mind to. (Traveling solo, bungee jumping, parachuting, putting on a festival for 5000 people. Building my first website at age 50… If I wanted to do it, I did it. Nothing could stop me!) I have always had pain, but in ’09 I was dealt a curve ball. I was stopped in a line of traffic and SMASHED into from behind by someone not paying attention… doing 45 MPH. Their stupid little Kia totaled my beloved F-150. I came forward, and the whiplash bent my seat back 4 inches. My steel seat. The kind that doesn’t lay back. Needless to say, my life was much changed in that moment. And I had to change as well. And so my Self Care Circus began.

“Only the Strong Survive” is baloney. Life doesn’t favor The Strong, life favors The Adaptable. So I adapt. 

Sometimes it’s little things. Like I can’t sit and work on something for hours at a time. I have to get up every 30 minutes or so and move or I will solidify.  (Seriously, it’s like I’m made of liquid concrete and that’s the only way to keep me from “setting up.” ) 

I also have to be aware of how I am holding myself at all times. Although I often fall short of the mark, I try to bring as much good posture and yoga alignment into my everyday actions (and inaction) as I can. Sometimes waiting in line at the grocery store is a marathon of yoga intention, Tadasana/Mountain Pose, and micro-adjustments, but <that, as they say, is a whole ‘nother post!

It may not be normal, but what is “normal”, anyway?

I can’t seem to do anything the way “normal” people do it. For instance, I got a mini trampoline this year. I loved it, and would jump a couple hundred times a day to get my circulation and lymphatic system moving. Then I injured my right foot and couldn’t jump. Major bummer. And the trampoline was just taking up space, mocking me with it’s, “Uh uh! No tramping-the-leen for YOU!” So what’s a gal to do?!

Adjust. Adapt. Align. Ok, so I can’t use it for jumping. I have to change my perspective a little. What can I do? Well, I can’t sit on the floor because the Zeke-ster is the sheddin’est dog of all time, but I can sit on the trampoline and give him pettin’s and snuggles without getting hair all over my butt. So that’s something.

What else? Well, I meditate. (Actually, I “Sit.” Because if I call it “Meditating” then there is this ideal that I am aiming for that I never get to, and then I get down on myself for not getting there, but if I call it “Sitting,” well, hell, I can always sit, right? (But that, my friends, is < another post entirely!) So rather than sit on the floor and get all dog-hairy and have my feet go to sleep, I can sit on the trampoline. Comfiest meditation spot ever. So that’s two things.

And one day I got excited while sitting on my multi-purpose Bounce-O-Leen, and started to bounce up and down. “Hmmm,” I thought, “That feels FUN!” So I bounced some more. If you’ve never tried to bounce up and down while sitting on your butt, it’s fun, but it takes a lot more core strength than when you’re standing. And another fun exercise that I can actually do was born. 

Hence, that became part of my exercise regimen. Bouncing. Oh, and sometimes I flap my arms like a tiny little tweety bird. Because it makes it even funner. (Save it. I know. But it’s my site, and I reserve the right to use whatever “words” I like. Hell, I shall even be making some up. Vocabulary and grammar do not matter. What matters is the conveyance of feels and ideas! Am I conveyed?!)

So, yes, funner physical fitness. If your exercise regimen does not include things that entertain you and make you laugh, you’re taking it too seriously! (For example: #1 Reason I Like Tap Dancing: It’s Fun. #2 Reason I like Tap Dancing: It’s even fun(ny) when I eff it up. Which is often. And laughter helps tone your core, right?!)

My Point?

So, what’s the point of this post? When you can not, if you focus on the “Can’t”, you may miss out on all the other “Cans”. Adjust. Adapt. Align. You can. Please share this thought with anyone you think could use it. And also please share what you discover when proceeding thusly? Let’s help each other get along in life. Share whatever “Tools to Deal” we have. Oh, and listen to more Bowie. That cat’s tight!