A week after surgery

[April]

Hi Everyone. Hope you have all been well.

It has been one week since the hernia repair. There was far less pain after surgery than what I experienced after the surgery I had in May, which was a relief. However, the bounce-back time is far greater, unfortunately. I have had one week of rest after the surgery, and the doctor just ordered another. No exercise for at least a month, then I have to watch carefully and stop if anything hurts.

The new thread about one directional exercise answers some questions I was having now, when thinking about starting up exercise again. I had been concerned about the DVRs because of the internal pressure they create in the body, in light of the hernia repair. It makes a lot of sense to apply the tension on the out-breath only so that you don't build up so much internal pressure. I don't want to burst the hernia open again.

If anyone has any comments about exercise after a hernia repair, they would be most welcome. I don't want to do anything to injure myself. One friend of mine said after her hernia repair, the doctor told her that for the rest of her life she could not lift more than 30 lbs. I didn't realize that this surgery was a "rest of your life" kind of thing to be careful about.

MikeNY, how are you doing after surgery?

Personally, I am feeling groggy from not exercising. Not a nice feeling. I am making my family do everything for me since I can't lift anything, although I can still cook (as long as I don't lift heavy pots). I was ordered not to mop floors for a week, one of my main occupations.

The down-time is valuable for taking stock of life and evaluating what should or should not be happening. I am such a minimalist that I feel like there isn't much more I can do to simplify my life further, but with a large family, there is no end of demands. A few weeks of sick-leave should be enough time to figure out a few things, though.

Have read some books. North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell, is a wonderful classic British romance novel. Now I am reading a classic children's book, The Wind in the Willows, about little animals in the wood. Hope to be able to start The Count of Monte Cristo before the sick leave is over.

Using the time also to seek the Lord for His answers, and read the Bible in a more relaxed manner.

[Big Bear]

Hi April,

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your recovery.

I love the section you wrote about being a ,'minimalist' the last four years I have really gone through an intensive simplifying.It is so liberating isn't it?

Love the books you are reading!

Do you know any Qigong? Qigong is wonderful after surgery.For me,Standing Meditation has always worked well post-op.No movements that can hurt, yet it really helps the qi and wai-qi.Lam Chuen's books are great.

Hope you are well,talk to you soon.

peace,
jason

[April]

Hi Jason,

I don't know anything about qigong. Is there a web site you can recommend about it? What are qi and wai-qi?

I agree with you about being liberated by minimalism. One of my friends once rented a quaint old apartment and decorated the living room with only a futon couch, a rug, and a large oriental umbrella, all in pale yellows and light grey. It was so soothing to walk into such an uncluttered space. It made such an impression on me that since then I try to duplicate that feeling of simplicity as much as possible. With a large family, I don't really succeed, but it is a goal.

For many reasons, I reject the culture of materialism and consumerism because although we think we own things, they really own us: we spend our time trying to figure out where to put them and how to keep them safe after our investment of time and money into their acquisition. It is a terrible burden!

[MikeNY]

April I hope you are fine and getting better fast. I'll pray for you.

It's been 2 weeks and one day since surgery for me. I am limiting exercise at the Doctor's direction to walking and light Qigong, doing PaKua and Shaolin Ssu. The Doctor told me no exercising for six to eight weeks, I was lucky got a great surgeon and surgical team.

I'd think that you'd need to rest six to eight weeks prior to situps or anything pulling on the muscle repaired, but I'm no MD.

Light Qigong would work, Qi or Chi is what Gordon talks about "Nerve Force" or inner power, the mystical element in Asian Martial Art's and the same thing was Pneuma in Anicent Greek for thier Martial Arts. You could do a Western version of Qigong lightly and using the motions without force practice in the movements of Western Boxing, or Krav Maga the Israeli Martial Art. Once the surgeon allows you can use force and it becomes a exercise form of shadow boxing. I've used shadow boxing as a exercise through the years and it builds Nerve Force plus makes you faster and skilled.

[Big Bear]

Hi April,

A great book is,'The Way of Energy' by Master Lam Kam Chuen.It is one of the best books on Qigong out there.Standing meditation helps to regulate and build the qi within(life's intrinsic energy-like prana from yoga)and build the wai-qi.Wai qi is akin to what we know as the 'Aura' in the west that surrounds outwards of 36 inches or so from the body.Wai-qi helps to protect the energetic body and therefore the entire structures of the body.

When I was fighting full contact years ago,before all this MMA craze,I used to do a lot of Standing Meditation(it is still a foundation for me).In a sport with broken bones and internal injuries,I was never injured.I owe this to standing meditation.

It is a wonderful compliment to what we do here.Some do not like standing(which by the way can be done sitting and also laying down when ill).It is worthy of checking out to see if it resonates with you.

Hope all is well with your recovery.

peace,
jason

[Andy62]

April, It is great to hear that you are doing so well. We are all pulling for you and praying for you. You can "exercise just with your mind". Read the information below. It really works. You mind is the foundation of all physical, mental, and emotional strength anyway:



"Think Yourself Stronger
Competitive athletes often use a technique called visualization to help give them an edge over their opponents.

By imagining every aspect of a race or performance, from start to finish, they bring themselves one step closer to making it a reality. New research suggests this same technique may apply to strengthening muscles as well.

'Just thinking about exercise can help maintain muscle strength,' says Dr. Vinoth Ranganathan, who, with a team of researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, investigated the strength benefits of imagining exercising a muscle.

Thirty healthy young adults were divided into three groups. For 15 minutes a day, five days per week for 12 weeks, the first group imagined exercising their little finger muscle, the second group imagined exercising their biceps muscle and the third group served as a control by not doing any imaginary exercise.

'We asked the subjects to think as strongly as they could about moving the muscle being tested, to make the imaginary movement as real as they could,' explains Ranganathan.

Muscle strength was measured before, during and after the training sessions.

The finger exercisers increased their strength 35 percent, while the biceps group increased 13.4 percent. Measurements of the participants' brain activity during their mental exercises suggest that these strength gains were due to improvements in the brain's ability to signal muscle.

Researchers hope these results will assist in the therapy of stroke and spinal cord injury patients, and follow-up studies are planned for healthy older adults as well.

'We believe that anyone who has difficulty doing physical exercises can use our mental training method to improve the muscle strength they have lost or maintain the muscle strength they have,'researchers wrote.

Of course, actual strength-training exercises — as opposed to imaginary ones – are still the most effective means of building strong, healthy muscles.

Source: Annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, November 11, 2001, San Diego, Calif."