As I was working to accept my epilepsy, I noticed myself changing emotionally. I felt better about myself. I would look in the mirror and be proud of the person I was seeing.
I remember in college my marketing professor assigned us a book to read. It was the most boring book I ever read in my life. I could feel the stress increase as I kept reading the book. The book had no purpose and I could not understand why he would assign us to read this book. Suddenly I felt an aura start to come on and then the rest of the seizure. My point is that I could have avoided the stress by putting the book the down and reading it at different times. I had created the stress myself. We have the power to control stress and thus help our body avoid seizures. We need to understand how our bodies work and listen to its messages. Because we have epilepsy, we need to be a little more careful than the average individual.
I never thought when I was growing up as a child that I would have to be limited in enjoying certain activities I wanted to explore. I thought I could do everything. I realize now, as a young woman, there is no reason for me to lower my expectations, but there is also no reason to push myself over the limit. No one on this earth is a 100% perfect. We all have our faults. I work all the time by trying to make myself into a stronger human being emotionally, physically and spiritually. Working on myself makes me feel like I can fight the battle of epilepsy and so can you! Everybody has different characteristics that make up their personalities. Epilepsy is just one part of me. I cannot change the fact that I am epileptic. I have to just accept it the fact that I have epilepsy and learn to live with it productively. You will succeed and become a better person, if you think positively and productively. You will feel the strength in yourself to accept your epilepsy. Think about who you and where you are headed in life. It is up to you to make something of yourself.
Here is exercises to help you improve yourself physically and mentally. I call this the spirituality builder. It uses all your muscles and is designed to help you develop strength and flexibility in the body, increasing circulation, and stretching. These exercises will help you feel good and at peace with yourself. I do these exercises frequently. It helped me feel like I had full control with myself. We may not have control over ourselves when we have seizures; however, we do have the power to figure out how to deal with our epilepsy so it does not become a problem in our lives.
EXERCISE ONE
1. Lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Adjust your body to a comfortable position.
2. Slowly relaxing all your muscles in your body starting with the feet and then working your way up to your head.
3. Keep your eyes closed, concentrating on what you see inside yourself. Focus on what you feel and what you want to feel like.
4. Slowly raise your body upright, bending forward
5. Then bend to your right side
6. Then to your left side
7. Then back to step one position
8. Remember to take deep breaths during this exercise and breathe slowly.
9. Do this for a minimum of fifteen minutes a day.
EXERCISE TWO
This exercise should be done twice a day for 5-15 minutes in a quiet room free from disturbance.
1. Rest on your back with head and neck comfortably supported
2. Rest hands on upper abdomen, close your eyes and settle in a comfortable position.
3. Breathe slowly, deeply and rhythmically. Inhalation should be slow, unforced and unhurried. Silently count to 4, 5 or 6, whatever feels right for you.
4. When inhalation is complete, slowly inhale through the nose. Count this breathing out, as when breathing in. The exhalation should take as long as the inhalation. There should be no sense of strain. If initially you feel you have breathed your fullest at a count of three, that is alright. Try gradually to slow down the rhythm until a slow count of 5 or 6 is possible, with a pause of 2 or 3 between in and out breathing.
5. This pattern of breathing should be repeated 15 or 20 times and since each cycle should take about 15 seconds, this exercise should take about 5 minutes to do.
6. Once the mechanics of this exercise have been mastered, try to introduce thoughts at different parts of the cycle. On inhalation try to sense a feeling of warmth and energy entering the body with the air. On exhalation sense a feeling of sinking and settling deeper into the surface you are lying on.
7. On completion do not get up immediately but rest for a minute or two, allowing the mind to become aware of any sensations or stillness, warmth, heaviness etc. Once mastered, this exercise can be used to help you cope with any situation, so you don�t become over agitated
EXERCISE THREE
Often tension is focused in the muscles of the body itself, and the following exercise itself can release such tightness and allow the mind to be at ease. It is best to begin this exercise with a few cycles of deep breathing.
1. Lie down or sit down in a reclining chair.
2. Avoid distractions and wear clothes that are comfortable.
3. Starting with the feet, try to feel or sense that the muscles of the area are not actively tense.
4. Then deliberately tighten the muscles, curling the toes under and holding the tension for 5 or 10 seconds.
5. Then tense them even more strongly for a few more seconds before letting go of all the tension and sensing the feeling of release.
6. Try to consciously understand what this feels like, especially in comparison with the tense state in which they were held.
7. Exercise the calf muscles in the same way. First sense the state the muscles are in, then tense them, hold them in position, and then tense them even more before letting go. Positively sense of relief. If cramping occurs, stop tensing that area immediately and go on to the next area.
8. After the calf go on to exercising the knees, then the upper leg, thighs, buttocks, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, head and face. The particular order is irrelevant, as long as these areas are exercised the same way.
9. Some areas may need extra attention. For example, in the abdomen the tensing of the muscle can be achieved either by contracting (pulling in the tummy) or by stretching (pushing outwards). This variation in tensing is suitable to many muscles in the body.
10. There are between 20 and 25 of these areas depending how you go about it. Give each about 5-10 seconds of tensing and another 5-10 seconds of letting go. It should take 8-10 minutes to complete this exercise. After the exercise, try to relax for a couple of minutes.
11. Focus the mind on the whole body. Sense it as heavy and content, free of tension. You can do this by doing a few cycles of deep breathing.
