Tags
AcroYoga, claustrophobia, coffin-like, kirtan, kumbhaka, lasers, Lighthouse Family, magnetic forces, MRI, nanna nap, panic attack, pesky shoulder, physio, Yoga Balance, yogi
All that breath control’s gotta be good for something other than kumbhaka, right? And yes, it is!
It’s fantastic for when you find yourself lying half-naked on a table and wearing one of those flimsy paper gowns, all squished up into a coffin-like machine to get an MRI of one’s left shoulder. Yes indeed folks – that was my Friday night last week!
All on account of that pesky shoulder injury of mine. Hopefully, it’s met its match now and won’t defy diagnosis much longer. I’m grateful for that. But I’m not grateful for the non-rebate-able $280 bill! Apparently I can’t even claim it on my health insurance (and for the US folk, here in Australia we do actually have affordable health insurance that’s usually pretty good at rebating medical services).
So. The MRI is one heck of a weird experience. One of the first questions they ask you before getting started is whether or not you suffer claustrophobia. And hey, even if you don’t, there’s a good chance you’ll dislike being inside an MRI machine while being strapped to the table/bed. It probably isn’t so bad if you’re getting the lower half of your body scanned. But when it’s your head or shoulders, you get ferried head-first into the roundish un-spacious innards of the machine.
And being a yogi helps because you’re instructed to breathe from the diaphragm (long and slow), to make sure the pictures don’t come out blurry. I can only imagine how tough it might be to manage this task if you’re finding the whole thing rather anxiety-inducing!
As for me – well, it’s not been too many months since my last panic attack, so I played it safe and mostly kept my eyes shut, focusing on breathing and repeating my mantra. I was given headphones to wear in a (failed) attempt to block out the really loud noises the machine makes – it sort of sounded like road works with lots of banging. More practically, the headphones allowed the technician to communicate with me while I was entombed (it definitely felt a little tomb-like when I did open my eyes for a few seconds). But I really could’ve done without the bland GOLD FM music streaming through them at the same time.
The interesting part about it was that I could feel the magnetic forces as the scans were in progress. All up I had about six scans and each one took around 6-8 minutes. The sensations were quite varied – everything from heat to prickly-ness, to feeling like lasers were radiating through me. The weirdest was feeling as though my body was being pushed around at a particle level and from the inside. Which was probably all of those big magnets in the MRI machine I guess…
Anyhow, I see my physio this Thursday. Fingers crossed I don’t need surgery. Though I guess if I do… argh! More $$ I don’t have but will have to find because while I can cope for a bit, I don’t really want my repertoire of asana to be limited on a permanent basis if I can help it. And it’d be nice if that pain thing could be taken care of, too. 😉
The rest of the weekend was much more fun! Kirtan and after-kirtan dinner on Saturday night followed by Yoga Balance (a form of AcroYoga) on Sunday…
I had no idea how much energy this kind of thing takes (prompting a late afternoon nanna nap)! I got to be both the base (person on the bottom) and the flier (person balancing on top of another person). No photos from my session though, but maybe next time. It was So Much Fun!!
Woke up yesterday still feeling sleepy and tired, so it was a very mellow start to the week. Perhaps that’s why I had a bit of a musical flashback to just over ten years ago, when I was working as the office manager of a chiropractic/natural health business in Sydney. We used to like playing beautiful and uplifting music and one of the chiropractors who worked there introduced us to the Lighthouse Family.
It’s not so much my musical taste now, but I did LOVE these guys back then. And listening to them yesterday made me feel really great. Enjoy!!
~Svasti
Svasti: A Journey From Assault To Wholeness 
Call me crazy, but i actually find something relaxing about MRI’s. I’ve had so many I’ve lost count, with 3 back surgeries, brain scans, breast cancer… I like the cocooned feeling, but I always request NO music! I find myself entraining to the rhythms of the banging and rattling and can get into a trance like space so that when it’s all over with I am feeling completely relaxed. If my insurance didn’t cover them I’m sure I’d be way less relaxed though! I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that resolution to your shoulder pain can be resolved soon and without surgery!! xo K
I forgot to say, the two person pose does look like fun to do! I’d love to see a little video of how you get into that pose!!
I haven’t come across the part in the Yoga Sutras where Putanjali mentions enduring MRIs as a benefit of our practice yet, but I’m only halfway through. I’m sure it’s in there somewhere!
my momma introduced me to yoga and is still practicing asana… but she says if she ever has a health problem that requires an mri.. well, she’s just going to keep having that health problem!
no open MRI machines there? we have those here but definitly NOT MRI bills that are only $280!! that’s amazing!
I had an MRI on my knee once, it did not bother me. but I dread having another one only because I would have to take out my nose bling!
hope your prognosis is good with your shoulder…:)
@Karin – I suppose when you’ve had so many MRIs, that’d be a good reason to start feeling comfortable with them. If I ever have to have one again, then definitely no music!
There’s going to be a two day AcroYoga workshop in July, so maybe I’ll be able to take some footage of moving into the poses there. 🙂
@Alex – Haha, yeah… maybe it’s hidden in the Shiva Sutras somewhere instead? 😉
@Emma – I dunno about that. I mean, if I can get whatever treatment I need, then hopefully I won’t always have that problem!
@Linda-Sama – There might be open machines, but since this was my first experience I wouldn’t know any difference! If it wasn’t my head going into the machine I don’t think it would bother me either… And yeah, our medical costs over here are nothing when compared to yours. Geez, I hope it stays that way!
Hey Svasti!
I have had several MRI’s as I have herniated discs in my lower back, as well as degenerative disc disease. I HATE getting in those MRI machines! In fact, last time I got one, I did a new kind–it was an ‘Open MRI’ and was so much better!
I hope your shoulder injury is not a serious one. I have found that doing yoga has really helped my own bad back the last year and a half I have been doing it. Not to mention the added benefits to my spiritual well being.
Another wonderful post, my friend!
Melinda
Hi Svasti. So happy you chimed in on my blog about the horse! I’m reading all you write about yoga here. I had some health problems a while back that were somewhat traumatic and now I find myself having difficulty moving into yoga. I appreciate what you write here and think I’ll give it another go.
@Melinda – Oh, an open MRI machine sounds so much better!
@Lovely World – Thanks Maribeth, I loved your horse! And I do hope you find your way back to yoga, perhaps just a more gentle style than you’ve tried before? It will certainly help you regain some movement again 🙂
Hey… an interesting little factoid: the Lighthouse Family and Delerium brought me to yoga.
So there. They must be good. I still listen to Postcards from the Edge on long journeys.
x
@Amanda – They brought you to yoga? You soooo have to write a post about THAT! And maybe it’s high time I find myself another copy of Postcards from the Edge… 😉