Yoga is Paying Off

Haley has had low muscle tone her whole life. 

She didn't roll over until she was about a year old.  She didn't try to sit up.  She didn't try to stand.  When she was a baby we started physical therapy.  She actually walked for the first time in physical therapy when she was three. 

There were times that I thought she would never walk, never run, never jump.

She has surprised me over and over.  

 What surprises me now is how Yoga has changed her.  She has been going to yoga for a year now.  When she started she couldn't stand on one foot.  I had taken her to get some new shoes at a great store in our area called When the Shoe Fits.  They really know what they are doing.  The man that helped us wanted her to get up on her tiptoes.  She didn't.  He wanted her to stand on one leg.  She couldn't.  He told me that he thought she may have serious issues with her legs as she ages.

Now, I think she might be fine.

In Yoga she does the tree pose.  It is when you stand on one foot and balance with the other foot raised up so that your foot rests on your calf or knee.  When the yoga instructor first asked her to do it she couldn't.  Later on she could balance for a few seconds.  Then she got better at it and was a little better on one foot than the other.  That is pretty common.  Her Yoga instructor is always right there either supporting her or just barely touching her so that she knows that she will help if she is needed.  Lately she has been holding the pose all by herself for a count of ten.  It blows me away.

Tonight when we were getting her dressed in her pajamas I said "Haley, sit down on the bed and take off your socks."  She kicked up her heel and reached down and pulled her sock off.  She did it so fast that I didn't notice if she was steadying herself on the dresser or not.  Then she turned slightly, reached for the dresser with her other hand lifted her foot up in front of her and took off her other sock.

I was in shock.

I just said "Great job Haley!"

Yoga is paying off. 


~ Haley's Mom

I am participating in 31 for 21 Blog Challenge this month. The challenge I have accepted is to blog every day in October to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. Learn more about Down Syndrome at the National Association of Down Syndrome.

 

Not so smooth...

Haley had her last sealant appointment.  The dentist suggested that we do each section of her teeth separately so it wouldn't be too big of a deal for her.  I think it helped.  She had done so well on the previous one that I wasn't worried about this one at all.  

I thought everything would go so smoothly.

Little did I know.

Her appointment was scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on a Friday.  She also was scheduled to go to Yoga that Friday at 5:30 p.m.  My plan was to take her to the dentist and then bring her home.  Our cat had recently had some surgery and I had made an appointment for him to get the sutures out at 5:00 p.m.  

I was going to take the cat in to the vet and Haley's Dad was going to take her to Yoga.  

Just before Haley got home from school I went upstairs to talk to her Dad.  We decided that I should have plenty of time to do everything I had planned, but if worse came to worse he could take the cat to the vet.  After Haley got off the bus I gave her a drink and a snack.  When she was done I explained to her that she had a dentist appointment and then we brushed her teeth and headed out the door.

We got to the dentist's office a little early.  Haley went straight for the the big button on the wall that allows her to operate the train that runs around the ceiling of the waiting room  She loves that train and she loves that big red button.  I checked her in with the front desk and took a seat.  There were a couple of other kids and their parents in the waiting room.

Those kids were called in one by one.  I didn't really pay attention to the time, but it did seem that there was a lot of time between each kid.  Eventually I decided to look at the time.  We had been waiting for almost an hour.  I could tell that Haley was getting impatient.  Actually truth be told she was being amazingly patient, considering.  I walked over to her and talked to her about some of the things on the shelves.  A movie had been playing since we walked in to the office.  

The movie was over.

I started to investigate.  To see if I could get the movie started again.  The nurse came out and apologized and said it would be another twenty minutes.  I texted my husband that we were not in yet and that it was looking like he might have to take the cat to the vet.

Finally Haley was called in.  The hygienist asked her if she wanted to watch Spirit, she remembered that was the movie she had chosen the time before.  Haley said "Yeah."  She handed her the case with the DVDs in it and Haley dutifully turned each page until she found the Spirit DVD.  After that the hygienist got the video glasses and headphones all set up and laid Haley back in the seat to watch.

We waited some more.

The dentist was obviously busy in another part of the office.  I could hear a little kid screaming and crying.  I hoped that Haley didn't hear it over the sound of her video.

Finally the dentist came in and greeted us.  She laid Haley back some more and Haley opened her mouth.  She got right to work - again without the "happy air" that she used the first time.  After a few minutes she stopped and looked up at me "She has a cavity, we are going to have to fill it."  I nodded.  She showed me the whole in Haley's tooth.  Haley got a shot of Novocain.  She didn't even flinch.  The hygentist offered her a popsicle.  They told me to watch her.  They didn't want her to bite her cheek.  So we sat there and waited for her to get numb.  I realized that this was going to be a long one.  

I texted my husband "Plan B - Go!"

After a while the hygienist came in and then left again.  I heard her talking to the dentist in the hall.  She was pleading our case.  I heard her say "They have been here a long time."  

No kidding!

So the dentist came in.  She put one of those rubber dam things in Haley's mouth and then got to work.  She showed me the space that she had made for the filling.  I had never seen that before, it was interesting.  Then she filled the tooth.  Haley was perfect.  She sat so still.  She was gripping the arms of the seat throughout the whole procedure.  I patted her hand and occasionally rubbed her leg.  I felt her legs tense up a couple of times, but that was the extent of her reaction.  When they were done they took the rubber dam out of her mouth and as they sat her up she put up both of her hands for High Fives.  

I looked at the clock on my phone.  She had had that rubber dam in her mouth for forty five minutes.  Not only did my husband need to take the cat to the vet.  We were going to be late for Yoga.  I tried to text my husband, but he wasn't answering.  I realized that my phone battery was going to die.  I sent an email to the Yoga instructor.  Between the slow internet connection I had and the fact that my phone was dying I didn't think that she would get it.

We left the dentist's office at 5:30 p.m.  I drove straight to Yoga.  Haley was making funny sounds from the back seat.   I looked in the rear view mirror and realized that she was not liking the way that her face felt.  She was touching her face and whining.  I tried to explain to her that it would get better soon.  She started crying.  

I looked in the rear view mirror again and it was quite a sight.  She had her mouth open crying, but half of her face was slack.  It was disturbing.  I realized that between the funny feeling in her face and the panic I was projecting about being late, she didn't know how to react.  I tried to talk calmly.  I told her that we would soon be at Yoga.  I reminded her how much fun Yoga is.  She calmed down a little.

When we drove up the Yoga instructor looked up and smiled.  When we walked in she told me that my husband had called and that she got my email.  I was amazed.  I explained the situation to her and she said that she would take it easy on Haley.  She removed the hardest Yoga poses from Haley's schedule, especially the ones where Haley would have to be upside down.  

She told me that once she had done Yoga after a dentist appointment and that she had had an anxiety attack.  Her instructor had told her that Yoga causes increased blood flow throughout the body and that the Novocain that was shooting through her system caused her anxiety.  

So Haley had a very laid back relaxing Yoga session, by the end of it she seemed to be feeling a lot better.  I asked her if her face felt better.  She said "Yeah."  

When we got home I made her a smoothie.

Cats, Cows, and Dogs

The last two weeks while Haley's Mom is off enjoying time with our new niece I've taken Haley to yoga. The first week I carefully sat on the chair and watched. Haley's instructor finally encouraged me into getting on the mat and sharing yoga with Haley.

I've never done yoga before. Would I be able to control my body the way the instructor and Haley do? I was apprehensive at first.

On the floor I went about moving my body into positions and shapes I'd never tried before. I was of course a bit awkward at it but I had fun and by the end of the first session I had become a pro. I could do Cat, Cow, and Dog as good as Haley!

This week I walked in and asked if I could join in from the start. The instructor said sure and we got started. She'd coach Haley and I into the various poses through warm up, and into stretching.

Then it started.

The instructor decided I could do more advanced stuff. She'd coach Haley then she'd say "Dad, do what Haley is doing and add X" Usually X was lifting a leg, or not supporting my weight with my arms. What had started out as innocent fun with Haley was turning into work.

Yoga felt good. Even with the extras.

At the end of the session the instructor let Haley take the papers we were using as our list of poses home. Haley was pretty excited. She ran into the house with the papers not stopping to remove her shoes. She HAD to show her Big Sis what she does at yoga. She went into her undecipherable jabber pointing at each page with great excitement. Big Sis understood just what Haley was saying.

Yoga is fun. I can't wait for next week.