Last Cat/Cow/Warrior at H-W

 Sue Burchfiel and the H-W Sun Salutation Gang

If I'd stayed in NE WA where I lived for ten years before returning to my native California, I'm convinced I'd need a walker and maybe even a wheelchair by now. Spinal stenosis and disc degeneration had been leading me down that path. I'd reached the point where I needed a spinal epidural about every six months to remain upright and mobile.

Finally, it was a diagnosis of Raynaud's Syndrome that forced me to rethink about living just below the Canadian border. I could no longer tolerate the extreme cold winters of Colville, WA. I'd be risking gangrene when the circulation in my fingers shut down and they turned blue.

When I relocated at H-W I tried water aerobics for a while, suspecting that I no longer could manage the kind of aerobics I did in my in my forties in Long Beach or my fifties in Seychelles. But for some unknown reason the water aerobics only made my lower back ache more. Plus I began to burn and peel, even at 10 a.m. The California sun was unfair to my fair skin.

I'd avoided the classes in the Sunshine Room. Then I learned that teacher Sue Burchfiel espoused low impact aerobics and chair yoga. No athletic leaping and bounding. No yoga mats on the floor. After all, many of us are in our eighties...we might be able to get down but could we get back up? Instead Sue emphasized stretches, flexibility, balance. She made certain we kept our arms moving. She included a few pilates leg kicks...we celebrated birthdays with as many kicks as the birthday person had in years, including a few extra since Sue always purposefully couldn't keep count. Often 77 turned out to be closer to 97 in Sue's double-count.

Results? After five years here at H-W I haven't required a single epidural. I have had only two or three severe sciatica attacks...and many of those were on trips abroad where I'd engaged in far too much uphill clambering. So far, my arches may have fallen, but my spirits have not.

After all, Sue convinced us that we are strong women, warriors, goddesses. The few men who attended our classes agree that it's necessary to remain limber, despite our advancing ages.
Therefore, her final yoga class this past Friday was difficult here for all of us. Sue has left us, but our memories of what she has taught us will remain.

H-W Senior Living soon will become FountainGlen, when new ownership takes over in two weeks. Maybe I'll be moving along soon, too...maybe a little more south. So many endings all at once. Nonetheless, I must remember to stretch and bend and improve my circulation. This will help to relieve my stress, and promote my overall well-being.


But, what the hell? I'm a strong warrior. I can remember to pick myself up by the scruff of my neck, even when all I really want to do is take a nap.

Namaste.