{"id":575,"date":"2013-03-22T23:46:17","date_gmt":"2013-03-22T23:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=575"},"modified":"2013-03-21T00:01:34","modified_gmt":"2013-03-21T00:01:34","slug":"chronic-pain-and-downward-dog-yoga-for-all-of-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/03\/chronic-pain-and-downward-dog-yoga-for-all-of-us.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Pain and Downward Dog: Yoga in All of Us"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Image courtesy of Maggie Smith\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, I was rounding\u00a0a corner to home after a morning of errands. My head was full of the rest of the day’s “to do” list. I was hurting, and the idea of a nap did flit through my head. But it was crowded out by all the other things, important things (or so I thought) that I should\/could\/would be doing instead. And then, I rounded the last corner and all those ideas sort of settled to the bottom of the pile like big, fat,melting snowflakes. There in the hallway was my neighbor’s mahogany-coated dog, sprawled and snoozing in a bright shaft of early afternoon sun. He looked relaxed and blissful, and he didn’t move a muscle as I looked, smiled, and opened my front door.<\/p>\n

Clearly, he had his priorities straight. What is chasing a ball or sniffing around a parking meter or\u00a0fussing over a\u00a0neighbor if you can doze in a perfectly fine patch of sun that would soon have moved out of nap-shot?<\/p>\n

The sight of that serene hound reorganized my priorities, too. Laundry could wait. So could myriad other things. But the need to relax and take advantage of a stretch of time to rest and revive? Well, there was no time like the present – and still is!<\/p>\n

I know it’s important to know ourselves when we live with illness and pain. And I know we have to work with our medical team, too. But sometimes, we find important cues elsewhere, especially in nature. And sometimes, they are right outside our front door.<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day!<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, I was rounding\u00a0a corner to home after a morning of errands. My head was full of the rest of the day’s “to do” list. I was hurting, and the idea of a nap did flit through my head. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":578,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions\/578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}