July 20 to 31

July 20: Hot A with Aisa

I have been practicing daily since June 24. Tremors are still visible, but more important would be that I am slowly gaining balance and flexibility. Hot A was great today with Aisa.  My breathing got a bit short half way through class though. I'm proud of my balance today, especially with standing bow and tree pose. Improving by the day. Until tomorrow comes.

July 21: Sivananda with Marc

I did the 10:00am featured class today.  I think I did quite well without the help of Sinemet. Balanced well with warrior pose. Still quite falling now and then. But I noticed my higher strength level. My body really feels better by the day. Its like getting a massage each time. I noticed that tremors were tamed today. Cant wait for practice again tomorrow.

July 23: Hot B with Ryan

Did Hot B with Ryan and I was a bit late. It's hard to jump to practice without warm up. A definite no no no. I was  shaking like a fish at practice today.  Moral of the story: just RELAX AND BREATH. And make it to class on time!

July 24: Ashtanga with Neil

Did Ash withe Neil today. Quite shaky at practice, but felt more flexible and strong. As Neil would remind me, "I am not my body, so just breathe and disregard the shaking". Neil also advised to stay away from soda, coffee, junk food and carbs, and to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.  He also recommended ginger tea. My body continues to feel more relax without my medication.

July 25: Hot C with Mae

Today I did Hot c with mae. I feel stronger but is starting to be sore.  One of my classmates said I'm probably starting to do it right that's why it hurts. I am slowly feeling the power of muscles having control, less stiff, too, as caused by PD.

July 26: Flow with Tina

My muscles are worked out today and I surely felt it.  Ouch.

July 27: Hot A with Aisa

Just finished hot A with Aisa.  90 minutes seem shorter now.  Not that it's less challenging or easy, but it's getting smoother by the day. I feel more flexible. Still practicing and working on my balance.  One day at a time.  It's a great journey.  

July 29: Flow with Marc

Cool and rainy flow class with Marc today.  Getting more and more stretched.  Tried to get into Bridge Pose today but realized I am not flexible enough for this yet.  Also attempted preparation for headstand.  Someday perhaps?

July 31: Hot B with Ryan

I guess some days are good, some days are bad. I could hardly move in class today. But the irony of it, I still feel really good.  And flexible.

Hello! My name is Imee.

My name is Imelda Navarro but my friends call me Imee.  I will be 44 years old in September.  I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (PD) in 2005 in Virginia, USA.  My 2 sisters have PD, too, so I suppose this is hereditary. 

My tremors are classified as Stage-1 and none progressive, and manifestation is visible only on the right side of my body.  My doctors call it The Wind.  My fingers and toes move involuntarily like playing the piano.  Some people notice it, some people don't. But at the end of the day it's my body and I know it's there.

I used to take half a tablet of Sinemet 4 times a day to manage my tremors.  But not too long after, I started feeling the side effects of my medication.  Depression was one of them.  The tremors also seemed to get worse once medication wore off.  

Having Parkinson's makes you lose your sense of balance, focus and flexibility.  I use to dance gracefully, but that's now gone.  I used to dress smart, now wearing heels are tough.  I use to be so focused, now im a bit anxious all the time.

Sometime 2009, I decided to start a different journey to fight PD.  I took a class with Jai Guru Dev for Transcendental Meditation, Life Classes in OCCI, and Meta Coaching with Michaek Hall in Hong Kong, reiki, accupuncture, homeopathic medicines and yoga.  In the hope of getting better, I did all these and minimized Sinemet by half a tablet, just twice a day.

A good friend, Iryne Garcia, who is a big health fanatic, did some research of yoga studios around the city and enrolled me at Yoga+ for a month.  This is how I ended up here.  I have been taking classes for about a month now and decided to make a diary of my progress.  

These are my first photos at week 3.

My daughter, Fai Umali, also a yoga fanatic, sent me the video of Arthur, a war veteran whose life was changed by yoga. I told myself, if Arthur can walk again after diagnosed with what he had, then I can definitely go back to normal too.

Watch his video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448