When the going gets tough

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

 

I love that quote. It’s one o my favorites, because it speaks so much about the resiliency, adaptability and endurance of the human spirit. And no matter what gets thrown our way, we just have to keep going! Just keep swimming.

 

This week has definitely been a challenge. Not only has VR decided to close my case but they also are refusing to help me seek assistance for job training. I was really bummed by this news, because I really can’t afford to go back to school and have no way of paying for any kind of two-year education or training program myself (which is what I told them I needed). My soon-to-be ex-VR counselor is at least going to provide me with some local resources that I can seek out independently, so there’s that. I have a meeting scheduled with him next week.

 

Yes, I was saddened, but this isn’t the first time someone has dropped me. I will survive! I will press on! I will achieve my vocational goal even if I have to do it alone. I have two years. I want to put them to good use!

 

I’ve been dealing with headaches, dizziness, fatigue and chest pain all week. Sometimes it held things up (I missed a class on Wednesday due to feeling lightheaded) but on the good days, and any time that I was pain-free, I was back on my game and tackling my goals!

 

Aside from that, I also had a day of pain on the weekend. (I think it was Saturday?) First I had chest pain and then I had back pain.

 

Sometime after that, I had a dream. In the dream, I was doing two yoga poses. One pose is called Apanasana and you can check it out here I have done this pose before, so I was familiar with it. The other pose I did in the dream, however, was NOT one I was familiar with. It was me seated with legs folded in the lotus position then I leaned alllll the way back, lying flat. There was a lady in the room while I did this pose and she was saying the poses were good for the back.

 

Now, all you have to do to get my interest in a yoga pose or exercise is to say it’s good for the back! I have had a bad back for years and part of the reason why I do certain yoga poses is because they are good for my back.

 

And I wanted to try this one, but I wasn’t familiar with this one.

 

So, I decided to ask my amazing and super-awesome yogi, Austyn, for their input about it. If you have read my previous blog posts about yoga, you may know Austyn as the person who taught me yoga sometime ago this year. I LOVE yoga! It’s amazing and even though I am not that flexible YET or able to do everything YET, I keep trying! I keep doing the yoga because I want it to be a part of my life.

 

I messaged Austyn and explained about this pose. Being the amazing person that they are, Austyn responded right away. They first asked if I was referring to a certain pose and, when I gave more info, said that it sounded like a variation of the lotus pose. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense! And not only did this pose all of a sudden pique our interest, Austyn decided to try it. (Have I mentioned already how awesome they are??)

 

After trying the pose, Austyn got back to me and said there was more of a stretch in the tops of the thighs than in the back. I tried this pose too, and, wow, I totally felt that! Definitely a stretch in the legs but not so much in the back.

 

Here is me trying the pose. Yes, I know my legs went berserk from the lotus pose. That happened AFTER I laid back!

 

It’s definitely a good pose and I definitely felt it when I was walking around later on.

 

As for my legs getting all weird, I’m gonna work on that! The best part of trying a new yoga pose is seeing where I went wrong with it, because that means I get to work on improving it! Yay! A new yoga goal!

 

I asked Austyn if they thought this was a good pose to add to the routine. Here is what they said (Austyn gave me permission to share, btw): “I think it's a good pose. It seemed to stretch my legs in new ways which is always a good thing. I'm not sure about you but my legs always need a good stretch. Any pose you want to work on or feels good would make a great addition to your routine.”

 

And they added, "With this pose, one thing I would keep in mind is do the stretch and then switch which leg is on top and repeat so you get an even stretch in both legs." (Sidenote: Austyn is so cool for still offering some instruction on yoga!)

 

I am very thrilled by this experience. And it definitely lifted my spirits! The whole thing with VR and the bad days didn’t bother me so much anymore; now I was all psyched about this new thing, new accomplishment, and a new challenge to take on in my yoga routine!

 

I am also happy about other things that happened today:

 

1. I finished reading an ebook. The Story of the Goths by Henry Bradley. It was very interesting!

 

2. I started reading a new ebook that is good so far.

 

3. When I was working on a chapter in The GHOST Group the other day, I felt like the ending for that chapter wasn’t too good. It just fell flat. Later on, I figured out a new ending for that chapter and I wrote it today. It was much better! 

 

4. I worked out for over an hour today! Woot!

 

Yes, I had some bad days this week, but I had a really good last day of the week too. And this good last day of the week has made those bad days a thing of the past! Screw those bad days; I had a good last day! And my good last day is EVEN BETTER than those bad days!

 

And that has made me realize something: Getting back up and keep going means we have the opportunity to kick butt, be awesome and do something AMAZING to weaken whatever blow or impact the bad stuff has on us! If we do that, then the bad stuff doesn’t matter anymore. The bad stuff has no lasting power over us anymore. Because now we got something AMAZING to put that bad stuff in its place. To make it all GONE!

 

Yay for finishing strong!