LIVING WITH EPILEPSY

Epilepsy Letter # 3

staceychil — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 04:01:00 +0000

Dear Stacey,

I have simple partial seizures. Sometimes they are borderline complex partial. Medication has not totally controlled my seizures and I am not a candidate for epilepsy surgery. My medication reduces my seizures from fifty to sixty seizures a day to seven to twelve a day. I had my first seizure at age forty-two. I am now age forty-seven. The doctors do not know why my seizures began. I have had many tests, but no answers. I still hope one-day new research will produce a new medicine that will give me freedom from seizures.

I face the challenge of dealing with my epilepsy in many ways. Number one is through prayer. Secondly, I use every chance to educate someone about the subject of epilepsy or seizures. I often find out that many people are surprised that I do not fall onto the floor or violently shake when I have a seizure. They are not aware that there is more than one type of epilepsy. They wrote me once up in a newspaper article for our local paper and I was featured in an article about epilepsy for Women’s Day magazine. Epilepsy still unfortunately, has many stigmas and until we can talk about it freely and educate the public, many of those stigmas will remain. A doctor or counselor can talk about it all day. You and I are the people who live with it and should explain to the public what it really feels like.

I believe this person has also realized that epilepsy is beginning to come out into the open, but there is still a lot of work to be done in educating the public on epilepsy. When I read this letter, I felt very proud of her because she used what she had to help others. She reached out so others could understand what the disorder is. By following her goals and dreams, she was able to pursue her life and not let epilepsy stand in her way.

Happy New Year

staceychil — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 03:57:00 +0000

Image by Cynr via Flickr

Dear Epilepsy Recovery Readers,

Thank you for your comments on http://www.epilepsyrecovery.blogspot.com/ throughout the year and every now and then. It’s greatly appreciated! This is my prayer for you for 2011: May your ups outweigh your downs. May your smiles outweigh your frowns. May you always feel as young as you are today. May your faith and joy in life prosper in every way. May the words that you write and the things you say in 2011, grant you love and peace from Our Father who art in Heaven.

HAPPY NEW YEAR dear friend!

Your Friends at Epilepsy Recovery

Epilepsy Letter # 6

staceychil — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 03:51:00 +0000

Dear Stacey,

I often read the letters in Epilepsy USA, so I have found yours quite interesting. I found growing up what they finally diagnosed as psychomotor epilepsy rather than petite-mal.

I had removal of 2/3 of the right temporal lobe and graduated in 1958. Try explaining that to those many people who through the years looked at me as though (and thought) the devil possessed me or else I was a witch! People kept children in some cases from playing with me.

I could not really understand what was happening to me or why. It was not something that we discussed outside the family either.

In fact, to the day she died last year, my mother was horrified that I should tell my friends I had epilepsy! After all, what would her friends think?

I went off to college to major in agriculture. I found out that due to surgery my seizures were less. Nevertheless, the people with whom I was in contact accepted my epilepsy and my social life was great.

I am convinced students away for college drop the fear of their parents! Bosses, friends and, of course, my husband accept my epilepsy-that is the way it has gone.

I believe this woman had difficultly growing up with epilepsy because not until recently was epilepsy brought out into the open. Many people did not know what seizures were and when they saw someone go into a convulsion they did not know to react. People with epilepsy were looked at strangely and were singled out. This strong young woman did not let her past affect her. She went on with her life and got a college degree. She met friends who accepted her epilepsy. She got married and created a family for herself. She reached out for help through medical attention and the magazine Epilepsy USA.

Epilepsy Letter # 5

staceychil — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Dear Stacey,

I am twenty-nine years old. I have had seizures for almost ten years now. My general experience with epilepsy has been interesting. When I first had the seizures, my family was completely shocked, including my grandmother who has since passed away. Nobody ever knew what caused me to have the seizures and they still do not know. There were tons of tests done and nothing came out of it. My experience with epilepsy was a painful one. My seizures came about very suddenly. At first, the neurologist put me on Dilantin. Bad move. Why? Because it caused my gums to swell like balloons. That required some surgery. Everyone in my family thought I would die of these seizures. After each one, I had become very light headed for a brief period.

When I was working, my co-workers were supportive of me. The same holds true for both my family and friends. My grandmother was alive at the time that I had the first seizures. She was supportive of me. She even came to the hospital to see how I was doing. She was like that until about two months before she passed away. This was three years ago. After that, her health failed rapidly. Any time I did not feel too good after having the seizures, all I had to do was call her. She would make me feel much stronger. I feel that living with epilepsy is easy!! With the combination of both my family and friends, and the fact that I take my medication religiously on time every day, my life is extremely easy! My family and friends continue to support me while I have epilepsy. You definitely have to think positively and forget the past! Think about your future!

I like bike riding, miniature golf, walking and flea markets, garage sales, archery and of course, shopping! I also collect Sylvester the cat stuff. My collection is big and it continues to grow. I am a 70’s music fan, and love music from the 80’s and 90’s as well. I am also an Elvis fan, a Beatles fan, and a U2 fanatic.

I think this young woman used support from her family and friends to help her gain a sense of inner strength. She did not fall into depression because she focused on her goals and interests. She also looked at life positively by not focusing on her past. She focused on the good things in her future.

http://stores.lulu.com/staceychil

Epilepsy Letter # 4

staceychil — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:59:00 +0000

Image by Cynr via Flickr

Dear Stacey,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I am so happy for you; you must be thrilled! I was not on any medications during my two pregnancies, only because I did not know that I was having seizures. I never dreamed that I had epilepsy. My seizures started the month I turned twenty-six years old. (July 1980), when I first became pregnant with my first child, (my daughter).

During both my pregnancies, I felt great, I worked all the time and I was very happy. The only “black cloud,” were the awful “spells” that I was having. I did not know that I was having seizures until one year after my second child, (my son), five years after my first “spell!”

They diagnosed me with simple-partial seizures, which eventually worsened to become complex-partial seizures. Twice I suffered status epilepticus resulting in generalized seizures, which required hospitalization.

I am still in school (Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, Michigan). Last semester I had two (kind of) tough classes, but I loved them. Pathophysiology and Pharmacology and I was proud of my grades, B and A, respectively. This semester I have only one class, Medical Computer Information Systems, but I am finding this one class more difficult than last semester’s two classes combined.

I am hoping to take a spring and summer class. I have switched from medical transcription (a certificate), to Medical Information Technology (an associate’s degree). Therefore, I will have a better degree!

Take care, God Bless,

I believe this woman did not let epilepsy control her. She was blessed with two healthy children and is working on her college degree. You do not have to stop living just because you have epilepsy. She focused on her goals and looked positively at life. This is what you need to do.

Epilepsy Letter #2

staceychil — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:53:00 +0000

Dear Stacey,

Hi, I am forty-nine years old. When I first started having seizures, I had no aura, so I did not know when these seizures were about to happen. People were horrified when I had a seizure. They scattered as if they thought it was contagious. They never realized how much hurt and fear inside me was beyond their knowledge! When one of these seizures hit me, there was nothing I could do, but go through it. Not many people understand that even today! Sometimes when I am having a seizure, I can feel the blood because my head would hit the ground so hard like a 10-pound sledgehammer in full swing!

Stacey, the only way to get better is by God and your medicine in that order. You need to put your faith first. I believe if it were not for God that I would not be writing this letter today. I would be dead! I also believe that you need to think positively in this life. You should always look forward and never look backwards, tomorrow is another day.

I am fine for right now. I had two seizures in the chiropractor’s office and four coming home, which knocked me down each time. Nevertheless, being “mule-headed” I got right back up! Until the last, one knocked a hole in my elbow and I had to get a couple of stitches. I had to take a ride in the ambulance, which I really did not want to do.

I have had seizures for twenty-nine years. The medicine that I take is Depakene, Neurontin and Dilantin. Neurontin has been the best medicine that I ever took.

I believe this man did not let epilepsy control his life. He used God to help him develop his inner strength and to look at his life in a positive way. In order to develop inner strength, you need to have a clear mind so you can set productive goals for your life. You need to reach out for help. You cannot win this fight with epilepsy by yourself.

The Epilepsy Letter

staceychil — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:22:00 +0000

Dear Stacey,

Hello. How are things going? I am doing fine here in Grove City. Thank you for your uplifting letter and your article. You seem like a kind, loving person yourself. I come from a family of loving people. We are taught young in life to take care of ourselves and help each other. My parents not only taught, but also showed the way.

I am in the middle of eight brothers and sisters (five brothers and three sisters). I was born in 1953. I am right in the middle. My oldest sister died in 1963. She had a rare disorder that caused her major organs to age rapidly. My brother and I had rheumatic fever. I was five at the time. I learned how precious life is and how easily it can be taken away.

We were poor. Although my father had a good job, there were eight kids. We learned to depend on each other and to trust each other. Oh, we had our misunderstandings with each other. My oldest brother is one of my best friends in the world.

Well, so much for my family history. By the way I am the second oldest of the boys. All of my sisters were older. In 1989, I was walking home from work (about 1 mile), the temperature outside was thirty. The first day of winter.

I arrived at my trailer, and I took my glove off my left hand. The next thing I know a cop (a good friend) was calling out to me, he was aware of my seizures. My hands were so cold, even the one with the glove on it. I was shivering.

Suddenly a squad came into the lot and over to me. I have never been that cold before. I had fallen from my seizures. (That is usual; I fall backwards and to the left a little when I have a seizure). Before I regained my awareness I got up and started walking, unaware of what was happening (also, usual). I walked into the trailer, hit my head and passed out. I was lying in the snow and as I said, it was 30 degrees for a half hour or forty-five minutes.

They got me on the stretcher and started putting hot water bottles around me. They took my temperature. I heard one person say “Going into hyperthermia. His is below critical.” The next day I woke up in a hospital. The knuckle on my left hand (the one unclosed) was aching badly. Soon after the doctor came into the room with bad news and good news to tell me. Oh no! I thought. He said, “First the bad news: you have first degree frostbite.” I braced myself for the next sentence. “The good news: you get to keep your fingers.” I was so happy and relieved that tears were running down my face. First-degree frostbite is the mildest form of frostbite.

Now, it is still something I have to deal with. Yet I will exchange it for my fingers any time! I really do not like to tell these stories and do not want people to feel sorrow or pity for me. Hey, I have had seizures for going on a quarter of a century. I take care of myself. I am very independent.

For sure, I do not suffer as much as many other people with epilepsy. I am truly one of the lucky ones. I have had thousands of seizures over the years and I am here telling you about some. How many can say they never lost the ability to take care of themselves?

Keep up the faith and live the good life.

P.S. My dad had a saying about life; nobody gets out of this alive. He is right; we live life as full as we can. One Day at a Time! I learned from this letter that support from others can be very crucial in overcoming any obstacle from epilepsy that comes our way. Inner strength is something we need to overcome epilepsy. In addition, you can develop inner strength through support and love from the people who mean the most to us in life and who understand what we are going through. You need to take into consideration that inner strength does not happen overnight, so be patient and live life “One Day at A Time!”

THE EMOTIONAL SCAR OF EPILEPSY – How Others Feel to Have the Disorder

staceychil — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:17:00 +0000

THE EMOTIONAL SCAR OF EPILEPSY

How Others Feel to Have the Disorder

What happens when we have a seizure? We lose control of our bodies. This is what happens to someone every time a person has a seizure. Such a person has no way to stop the seizures, is unable to stand up, to speak or once the seizure is over, to remember what happened. Imagine trying to get through life having to live with the constant fear of when and where your next seizure will occur.

Having to cope each day with these unsettling emotions is tough. Emotions such as fear, anxiety, and anger build up inside until you cannot deal with them any longer. Many people with epilepsy feel as though they are alone. They feel they are trying to battle the disorder all by themselves. People, who do not have the disorder, ask me “How can they feel they are battling epilepsy alone when they have doctors, family and friends to comfort them?” To live with the disorder, one needs to communicate with people who have the same disorder. It gives you the opportunity to open your heart and share your unsettled emotions about how it feels to have epilepsy.

One way of doing this is to subscribe to Epilepsy USA. The Epilepsy Foundation writes this magazine. They send it to you every two months once you become a member. The magazine informs you about what is going on with epilepsy. It has a section where it lists addresses of others with epilepsy that are looking for pen pals. The magazine also tells you about different events around the states that are constantly going on that you can participate in. For information, you can write to the main Epilepsy Foundation in Maryland.

The address is:

4351 Garden City Drive

Landover, MD 20785

If you do not already subscribe to this magazine, I strongly suggest that you begin to. It is one way to help give yourself encouragement so you can focus on your life and look at epilepsy in a positive way.

This is important because one can easily become depressed focusing on the negative aspects of epilepsy and wallowing in self-pity. This is why support from other individuals who suffer from the same disorder is so important. Understanding what someone with the disorder goes through is difficult, if you do not experience it yourself.

People with epilepsy from the United States and Canada have written the letters in this book. Their stories will help you understand that you are not alone and do not have to battle this disorder all by yourself. Many people with epilepsy struggle as you do, but refuse to let the disorder control them. They have learned to enjoy life by making the best of what God has given them.

After reading these letters, your outlook on having epilepsy will begin to change and you will begin to view epilepsy more positively. They will comfort you. Others understand what you are going through and want to fight this battle by your side.

It amazed me to find that so many of the people who wrote me struggled with similar problems when it came to dealing with epilepsy. The letters in this chapter are from many friends I have made while writing this book, who shared their deepest intimate thoughts and feelings about living with epilepsy with me. They also revealed some of their highs and lows.

I hope after reading this chapter, you will realize many other people with epilepsy share the same feelings as you do. I was not the only one struggling to find the miracle drug so one day I could become seizure free. I was not the only one worrying when my next seizure was going to occur.

Growing up I always felt that I had to prove I was the same as everyone one else. I should have realized from the beginning that I was no different. Many people in the world struggle daily to live a normal life in a society where people can sometimes be very cruel.

I hope these letters will be an inspiration and help you to realize that you are not alone. I hope you enjoy these letters and I hope they will help you as much as they have helped me.

Dear Stacey,

Hi! I received your letter today, and I was glad to get it. It sounds like you are taking care of yourself well. It is somewhat hard for me to think of babies because I am afraid that something bad would happen to the baby or me or to both of us. You seem healthy. I know the good Lord will take care of you and your baby.

I hope that this will cure my fear of having babies, when I see you and your bouncing joy, hand in hand or arm in arm. Depending on how you want to look it. It is great that you can stand on your own two feet, Stacey. Stacey, you have the talent to get other people started, too. Your writing is very powerful. Never forget that.

I am finally able to stand on my own two feet with the medicine Pazil. It is an antidepressant. First, the Epilepsy Foundation is a brilliant place to go for people with epilepsy. They could find out what was wrong with me. I needed to get a sense of responsibility back. I am a more organized person. I get along better with people and even get a lot done in a day.

Praises are to God. I lost 49 lbs., and my heaviest was 205 lbs. Now I am down to 156, and I would like to get down to 130-135 lbs. The Neurontin I am taking is 1200 mg. Last week I had many seizures. I went to my doctor Monday. My doctor thought it was the bad news I received the previous Tuesday. I applied for a full-time job at a light factory. It would have been a great job for me. Unfortunately, they wrote me a letter stating that they filled the position. Therefore, I have to try harder next time. I know that someone out there has to give me a job. I have really come a long way. My husband and I could go over to my friend’s house and spend the day with her, and then we took her to group at the Epilepsy Foundation. There was a movie that night.

Take Care and God Bless,

Have a Great Day!!!!

I think the lovely woman who has epilepsy was able to turn her life around with the help of others. The Epilepsy Foundation helped her move on with her life. She was able to communicate with other people with epilepsy through the Epilepsy Foundation. The people she met through the Foundation filled her heart with hope and happiness. The Foundation made living with epilepsy much easier.

The Brain and Epilepsy

staceychil — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 04:32:00 +0000

The Brain and Epilepsy

Image via Wikipedia

Epilepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system, specifically the brain. In simple terms, our nervous system is a communications network that controls every thought, emotion, impression, memory, and movement, essentially defining who we are. Nerves throughout the body function like telephone lines, enabling the brain to communicate with every part of the body via electrical signals. In epilepsy, the brain’s electrical rhythms have a tendency to become imbalanced, resulting in recurrent seizures.

If you have seen a picture of the brain before, it probably looked like this one, which illustrates the outer surface of the upper brain. This outer surface contains numerous folds that increase the surface area and allow more cerebral cortex to be packed into the skull, giving us more “brain power.”

The brain is an extraordinarily complex organ. When it comes to understanding epilepsy, there are several concepts about the brain you will need to learn. The first is that the brain works on electricity. Normally, the brain continuously generates tiny electrical impulses in an orderly pattern. These impulses travel along the network of nerve cells, called neurons, in the brain and throughout the whole body via chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.

A seizure occurs when the brain’s nerve cells misfire and generate a sudden, uncontrolled surge of electrical activity in the brain. Another concept important to epilepsy is that different areas of the brain control different functions.

If seizures arise from a specific area of the brain, then the initial symptoms of the seizure often reflect the functions of that area. The right half of the brain controls the left side of the body, and the left half of the brain controls the right side of the body. If a seizure starts from the right side of the brain, in the area that controls movement in the thumb, then the seizure may begin with jerking of the left thumb or hand.

The Brain

The upper brain, or cerebrum, is divided into left and right halves, called cerebral hemispheres. A bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum connects these. Each cerebral hemisphere contains four lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal. Each lobe contains many different areas that control a variety of functions.

The brainstem and spinal cord

The lower part of the brain contains the brainstem, which controls sleep-wake cycles, breathing, and heartbeat. The upper part of the brainstem contains the thalamus and hypothalamus. The lower part of the brainstem is continued as the spinal cord, which carries messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

Nerve cells of the brain

Nerve cells, or neurons, are the building blocks of the brain. They work like computer chips, analyzing and processing information and then sending signals through the nerve fibers. The nerve fibers act like telephone wires, connecting different areas of the brain, spinal cord, muscles, and glands. Nerve cells are so small that a microscope is necessary in order to see them. There are approximately 100 billion nerve cells in the brain. During a seizure, each cell may fire as many as 500 times a second, much faster than the normal rate of about 80 times a second in the brain and spinal cord. Hundreds of impulses bombard each call every second. One of the wonders of the human brain is how the billions of individual computers (neurons) in the brain function in a coordinated fashion to control our movements and breathing, and most importantly, to allow us to think and feel.

Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers of the brain. These substances are released at the end of the cell and cross the synapse, a tiny space between the walls of one cell’s axon and the dendrite of the next nerve cell, to bind to receptors located on that dendrite.

There are many kinds of neurotransmitters, but each individual nerve cell produces only one major type. Some of the neurotransmitters are carried a long distance within the nervous system. Others, however, have local effects; that is, they are produced by and released onto cells that are close to each other.

Neurotransmitters are important in diseases of the nervous system. In Parkinson’s disease, for example, cells that manufacture dopamine, an important neurotransmitter that regulates movement, are lost. Loss of nerve cells may contribute to the development of epilepsy in some cases. For example, prolonged lack of oxygen may cause a selective loss of cells in the hippocampus, which may lead to epilepsy. Some of the major neurotransmitters in the brain shut off or decrease brain electrical activity. They cause nerve cells to stop firing. These neurotransmitters are called “inhibitory” because they inhibit the activity of the cells. A neurotransmitter called GABA is the best-known example of this type.

Other neurotransmitters stimulate or increase brain electrical activity. That is, they cause nerve cells to fire. These are described as “excitatory.” Glutamate is an example of this type. According to one theory, epilepsy is caused by an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. If the inhibitory neurotransmitters in your brain are not active enough, or if the excitatory ones are too active, you are more likely to have seizures.

Many of the new medicines being developed to treat epilepsy try to influence these neurotransmitters. They try to increase the activity of the inhibitory ones, which turn cells off, or reduce the activity of the excitatory ones, which turn cells on. Either way, the idea is to have less uncontrolled electrical activity in your brain, and therefore fewer seizures.

Spirituality Builder

staceychil — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:50:00 +0000

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.

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