[HealthDharma] No Waiting

[Seiko]

As always, These are just my opinions, my thoughts. If anything I say seems wrong I invite correction, if what I say/do does not resonate with you, that's OK, we all find our own way.

Please excuse this long post.

My ME/CFS comes and goes in waves. Relapses come and go. I expect them. It is difficult to write this because I'm in the midst of a relapse now, it might last a few weeks. A relapse can be triggered by a cold, a minor illness, an accidental injury (I bump into things often - furniture, walls, etc). As I have a broken immune system I catch every little sniffle.

I found that life without pain meds suits me better than when I used them. I didn't like that feeling of being controlled by a pill. Everyone's experience is different, and I know that others find that pain meds are absolutely essential. Please do consult your doctor often.

I find that massage helps me keep pain levels reasonable. The Thai massage therapist calls me 'Psycho' (she can't pronounce 'Seiko').

When I am at a low point, I still breathe, eat, bathe, get dressed, sleep (well, try to sleep). I may read less, be less responsive to friends or electronic messages, I may not go out. I may spend longer in a hot bath, partly because it eases the pain, partly because I don't have to talk to anyone while I'm in there - I don't have to think. But I still drag myself through life, hour to hour, day to day, as best I can.

I figure if I can do this, I can do zazen. No need to pause. No need to wait until my body and mind have a better day. Today, this is what I have, sometimes sitting, other times reclining, I do zazen with the body and mind I have today.

Gasshō
Seiko
stlah

[Tokan]

Gassho, Tokan

satlah

[Kokuu]

[JasonC]

Gassho,

Jason

Sat Today

[Koriki]

I now tell myself a rather crass saying when I'm doing poorly - "If you feel like s***, sit." It's easy for zazen to be yet another thing that I don't do when I'm crashing, but I can learn things about myself if I do.

Gassho,
Kō

s@

[CP]

Seiko,
Thank you so much for sharing. The only thing I would like add is on your bad days if you still feel like sitting but are unable to do so in the traditional form with back straight on a zafu. Pleasure feel free to use alternative “sitting” methods. I often have to lay down or sit in a chair when I want to sit but me body won’t let me. I add this because I often talk with people who were told that if they didn’t sit in the traditional form they were not doing zazen. Many of these people limited or even had to stop sitting because they didn’t know other forms of sitting were available and acceptable.
Gassho
JinKan
Sat