Re-education

Had another session of Hellerwork today. Hellerwork is a precision deep-tissue massage; depending on where you need the work and how badly you need it, what it feels like ranges between good, "hurts real good," hurts, and really hurts (that last, usually not for too awful long). I think I'm getting away with not suffering too much because I had already sweat plenty of blood, sweat, and tears when I got Rolfed. (Now, that was an experience. But that's another story.) And I have a real gold-standard bodyworker, and that helps a lot.

This kind of massage really loosens up your body and improves how pretty much everything works. What's especially interesting in the MS context is that it confronts your nervous system with an immediate need to rejigger the way it handles the way you move--in my case, since walking was impacted, it's making me completely relearn walking. All at once. Very, very quickly.

I can almost hear my nervous system recircuiting itself. It's very strange. But it is, if nothing else... interesting.

Many martial arts encourage the practitioner to develop what they call "beginner's mind," where even a master approaches study with the open, fresh, eager innocent clarity as a rank beginner. Thanks to the Hellerwork, I'm going to have to relearn kyudo, playing the organ, and walking.

I'm not sure this what "cultivate beginner's mind" intended to get you to confront. But that's where I am, right now. And it certainly is, if nothing else... interesting.