The reality of living with autoimmune conditions
Vulnerability:
Easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally.
The quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either
physically or emotionally.
There has been a lot written about the power of vulnerability over the last few years.
Brene Brown writes:
"Vulnerability is the willingness to show up and share your authentic self while knowing that you have no control over the outcome of your interactions. Vulnerability removes defensiveness, promotes empathy, and bolsters creativity. Many associate vulnerabilities with weakness and push people away out of fear of rejection or ridicule. However, you can’t experience wholeheartedness without it"
This is not about that type of vulnerability.
This is about the vulnerability of living with autoimmune conditions, of their effects on the body,
mind, emotions and spirit.
Autoimmune Disorders & chronic illness make you vulnerable to despair, vulnerable to fear, vulnerable to isolation and loneliness, vulnerable to pain, to brain fog, to fatigue, to temperature fluctuations within the body, to insomnia, to poor mental health-anxiety, depression, to overwhelm, digestive issues, sudden weight gain or loss, anemia, neuropathy, to the grief one feels over losing optimal health.
Along with all this there are also sensitivities, lots of them, to the most obscure things like perfumes of any kind including fragrances in such things as washing detergents, shampoos, untidy surroundings, sounds, crowds, smells, textures and foods.
Every single person who lives with autoimmune disorders or chronic illness has experienced
one or all these vulnerabilities, sometimes several of them all in one day.
So how do we deal with it all?
After a period of feeling hard done by, upset, angry and defeated (these states come and go, are
we ever really free of them?) we begin to become curious about our condition/s.
We might begin to approach ourselves with gentle compassion and gentle lightness.
When we are able to feel into our bodies without criticism or pushing for improvement and we are able to give our attention over to imagination and exploration of what is happening within us, we become open to whatever we are experiencing we begin the journey to acceptance of what is, on any given day.
Personally I've found my yoga & meditation practice to be one of the most beneficial tools for learning to accept my unpredictable autoimmune condition.
The importance of acceptance of what is
Acceptance is quite different from resignation acceptance is the ability to simply
be with our experience, whereas resignation is a sort of pseudo acceptance, accompanied by
resentment.
Resignation is an attitude of having given up, there is nothing you can do to improve your situation.
It is almost impossible to improve any condition when we are in a state of resignation as it
promotes a sense of helplessness.
Acceptance on the other hand allows us to see things in perspective, to find gratitude in our lives.
We may still experience discomfort but its existence does not consume our lives we are able to gracefully move forward, actively utilizing methods that bring us healing and comfort.
I have learned that I can still enjoy my days and be with what is, to give up pushing on days where I'm much better served by slowing it all down.
I still practice yoga when I'm having one of those days, but in a way that's deeper, slower and more in tune with my experience in that day.
Other days, when I’m feeling optimal, I enjoy an energetic, strength-based practice.
Both of these approaches honor what my body is experiencing and bring enormous benefit to my entire being.
There is so much more to feeling well while living with autoimmune/chronic health conditions but
incorporating a yoga practice especially designed for you and your condition into your life will
create not only a mindset that fosters acceptance, but also a body open to healing.
May you be happy
May you be well
May you be peaceful and at ease.
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