Hi Judy,
Thanks for explaining the details of your personal therapy regimen and issues related to footwear. I may in fact try to do some of the head motions you describe at the moment when I'm rising from bed, before I stand up. But I can tell from your description that I probably won't be reporting that doing this changes very much.
As you describe your condition, it sounds as if we're very different in terms of our physical experiences and conditions, even if we think we feel some of the same things, in some ways. I don't have any particular problem standing still for a while, though for general reasons I do eventually get weary in a way I wouldn't have a few years ago. But it's not as if I am fighting against falling down all the time. That's just when I rise to my feet after sitting a long while in a chair or a car, or of course after lying prone in my bed for hours during the night. And staggering a bit as I walk down the sidewalk isn't much fun, and managing this of course makes me pretty tired. but I am familiar with the footwear issue as you describe it, and I'm certain that has nothing to do with my problems. My posture isn't faulty, my footgear support isn't a problem in any way, whether I'm barefoot or wearing a variety of properly fitted and supportive shoes that I own. I'm fortunate not to have any chronic pains in any of my limbs, joints, back or neck.
As for standing in the kitchen prepping a recipe and then standing over the stove to cook it, the only thing that's dangerous is for anyone to try to chaste me out of the kitchen while I'm working, especially if I've got my triangular-bladed chef's knife in hand . I say this so you know that talking about the kitchen isn't exactly alien stuff to me.
Also, I exercise regularly in a routine that I vary from workout to workout, trying to approximate the various things I did at a gym for years until I decided to work out at home. I ride a stationary bike at an aerobic pace for a solid amount of time. I do sets of push-ups, abdominal crunches, overhead presses with a bar and free weights, bicep curls with hand weights, triceps work, squats with the bar across my shoulders, and so forth. The only impediment isn't pain or weakness, it's having to bravely hold up against the head throbbing (not exactly a headache, I have to explain) and feeling as if the world is always going back and forth unless I keep my head and my gaze perfectly immobilized, which is difficult to do because it's not at all natural. So it takes some extra spirit and determination to overcome those problems and work out anyway, but when I do I'm rewarded to know that I'm treating my poor old heart well by giving it some work to do, that I'm not letting all the muscles in my body turn to jell-O, and of course I simply feel elevated in mood and happier after I work out, for the usual nice changes in my brain chemistry having to do with endorphins.
So, as I say, I don't think the system that seems to alleviate your physical stability and strength problems sounds like a good fit for me. But I'm really glad to hear that you've been so enterprising and found some helpful products and techniques for yourself. That's great.
Keep up the good work. And thanks again for providing more thoughts and experiences for me to learn from.
Joel
(please see this earlier post regarding why this is posted by Steve: http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=8368.msg90490#msg90490)
