Do you find it difficult to be patient?
I do. Especially when I’m sick. But I know I’m doing all I can to get rid of my cough that’s persisted for almost 3 weeks.
Went to the walk-in clinic, since my family doctor was away. Was given antibiotics and cough meds. I went for acupuncture and was also prescribed a Chinese tonic. A week later and still not all better so I thought I’d get rechecked by my regular physician. He sent me for chest x-rays and switched me to a different antibiotic. When the x-rays came back normal, he gave me an inhaler to use and said that it was a virus causing my cough. I’d just have to hang in there and let the virus run its course.
So I’m being patient. Trying to focus on resting, doing some restorative yoga, getting my sleep and drinking lots of fluids. I haven’t missed any days at work or at yoga shala. Maybe that’s just me being stubborn when I really need to rest? (My apologies to all those that I might have offended with my coughing. I was getting bored and just couldn’t stay in bed any longer!)
I used the idea of being patient as a theme for last night’s yoga class. The students that came out were newbies or just coming back to the mat after a time away. I told the class the backstory about my cough. And that I realized I needed to give myself time to get better. I couldn’t just push through it. The medication couldn’t be made to work any faster. I just had to be patient and let my body do its job. With that in mind, I asked the students to remember to be patient during their yoga practice. To let their bodies do what could (or should) be done in each pose. That pushing through a pose was not “good medicine”. Instead, they should observe their bodies and allow themselves to improve a little more each time they did the pose.
I’m taking my own advice right now. I know I’m not doing half the things I might do today, as I try to rest up on my day off. I might even dare to think that the inhaler has already started to make a difference. In any case, I’m going to lay low, finish reading my e-book from the library and maybe take a long Savasana…
