My husband is always after me to exercise. In Southern California it’s difficult to use weather as an excuse so I’ve been using fibromyalgia brain fog rather creatively:
- “What!? It’s midnight already!? I was just about ready to go for my walk”
- “Are you sure? I could swear I exercised today”
- “I couldn’t walk today. I locked myself in.”
- “What do you mean the doctor stressed exercise?! I swear she said not to stress over exercise.”
I really had a good reason not to exercise when I began to get light-headed on my walks and figured out it wasn’t the heat, lack of food or dehydration. I suspected my heart arrhythmia.
(It was heart arrhythmia that led to my getting Tullulah, my pacemaker.)
This is a series of pictures I did when I was first diagnosed with atrial tachycardia. I wasn’t focusing or even thinking about my heart when I was painting. I painted spontaneously and very quickly. The only reason I painted 3 was that I didn’t want to waste paint and throw away what I hadn’t used. About 6 months later as I was putting together a presentation it hit me that these paintings represented my heart.
It’s easy to identify which picture is my heart in normal rhythm and which paintings represent the various stages of arrythmia.
That is the wonder and power of Therapeutic Creative Expression.
Whether it’s painting on canvas, crayons on paper or magazine pictures in a collage we express our unconscious knowing and inner wisdom.
Now that my arrhythmia’s are under control the most exercise I’m getting is running out of excuses.
judy
Ha that sounds like me trying to get Ben to exercise!! I even have a little bell to ring when he is working so that he gets up and stretches a bit in between all the sedentary stuff!
I think the paintings are super interesting and I like how well they illustrate the workings of the subconscious mind.
Peta
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Peta,
I know how he feels. I never want to go to the gym, although I am always happy that I went. I do like to hike, so that sort of saves me. I like the bell–good to break up the sitting. When I concentrate hours can go by and I don’t notice.
Peggy
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Very, very clever!! Loved this email AND the paintings.
I have had atrial fibrillation for years, but I can’t feel it at all. Evidently once in a while,, my heart is in normal rhythm but most in the time is not.
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Joyce,
Thank you.
That is interesting that you do not feel the fibrillation, and probably a good thing.
Peggy
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Yes, we should all exercise, me especially.
But I have to comment about your paintings – Judy, you are an incredibly gifted artist. This series is outstanding.
Back to exercise – if you really suspect your heart of skipping a beat or two, please go see your doctor. Maybe Tullulah needs a jumpstart.
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Shari,
I agree, Judy is a fantastic artist–and she does so many different things–goofy “animals” to impressionistic paintings to wonderful line drawings. She is very creative!
Peggy
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