Coming Back to Life

​Yesterday I had a Whatsapp video-call with Elizabeth, a friend who’s both an artist and a specialist in Alexander’s method and has been incredibly helpful. She had told me that she had an idea that she wanted to share with me, so we’d agreed to talk on Whatsapp on video. When we were on the phone, she told me that her Alexander teacher had suggested a system to treat a tight muscle: asking the body where was softness in it. Elizabeth thought she could apply this method to get a part of the body to move.
We tried it, and I could lift my left arm. I felt and saw it moving upward! Tears came to my eyes. I was shaken and nervous at the same time; I thought I’d start having a seizure. Luckily, Elizabeth calmed me down. Then, we chatted briefly (husbands, children, and so on) and signed off. I wondered if I could lift my arm ever again, but a couple of hours later, when I told Eric what had happened and reproduced the movement for him, I started tearing again. And when we had a telehealth appointment with my neurologist and I repeated it in front of him, I still could. Since then, I’ve been pedaling the bike with my arms and lifting my left several times. Seeing my arm move just because I think I want to lift it no longer affects me. And who knows. If I keep focusing and practicing, maybe I’ll start moving my fingers next time… (joke)