Timing

A few years ago I underwent a stress test. I was ashamed at how quickly the treadmill reduced me to a defeated lump. So I began to run each morning. I felt great except that my legs were so tight I could hardly mount or descend a flight of stairs. Did I not do a half hour of meditation and a half hour of yoga each morning on arising? To my chagrin I found out that five minutes of post running stretching is more effective than an hour of  relaxation and stretching done before.

Recently as a volunteer in a research study I was sent for a sleep lab. To my surprise I found out that I had chronic obstructive sleep apnea and it occurred when I was lying on my back. About 144 times a night my airway would collapse and I could not inhale or exhale. I had read that a tennis ball attached to the back of a night shirt could stop snoring. So I gave it a try. Wow, I began to sleep better, have far fewer night mares and no longer woke up with a headache and feeling of fatigue. I checked out the "treatment" with a specialist. She approved and sent me for another sleep lab. Almost one hundred percent improvement!

It is humbling to realize that a small action can have such huge consequences. And yet it takes me so long to find the small changes to be made.