I’ve fallen off of posts. Life has been busy! I’m a mom of two, professional organist and piano teacher. And I am trying to keep up on my art, music, spiritual growth, and there are multiple horrific events happening around the world at any given hour.
Since I teach online I’m online a lot. I don’t have any sort of magic potion for getting off or limiting myself. But what I do need to do is take care of my body and specifically my posture. In high school, I developed a repetitive stress injury in my right hand/wrist. Not carpal tunnel but not not carpal tunnel. I shamed myself about it for about a decade before an organ teacher helped me manage healthfully. It still appears if I’m not careful, and on top of it I added a tailbone injury from my first birthing experience. It’s never really gone away. SO I have to take care of how I sit, how long I sit, and when I don’t sit. It’s all been a good motivator for more regular yoga/pilates/body awareness, and that’s fed into my connection with myself and my spirituality. That time from high school on that I spent ignoring my body’s need for a better way to move was also a dis-integration of my Self. I sacrificed my well-being for how I thought I was supposed to be for others – practice for concerts/my lessons (or listeners/my teacher). I told myself I couldn’t afford this or that sort of approach/therapy. On some level, that was true, but also I was afraid of prioritizing myself! This all happened mostly away from a screen, but since the mechanics of sitting at a keyboard instrument like a piano, organ, or harpsichord are similar to sitting at a computer keyboard, it bleeds into my approach of computer time and consequently my time set aside for this blog… and art. My art usually took the cut first, since using my right hand and arm was a direct affront to my injury.
As a parent, I definitely set the standard for screen time and a hopefully helpful approach with my kids. I try to get them outside a bit each/most days, or to do things off screens as well. This past year and a half has been a big step backwards. Pregnancy and childbirth and having a new baby meant that I physically couldn’t do as much out and about or even up off the couch. But now the baby’s over a year old and I’m really starting to have more time for myself and time to get the kids out.
Ultimately, my guiding principle is that I’m not going to force myself to do anything. I’m going to simply sit back and observe how my body feels in any given activity/direction, and adjust accordingly. My body knows deeper and better than my logical thinking mind does, and the two need to be in better harmony. Well, my conscious mind needs to respect my inner knowing better, let’s be up front with how it usually goes down!
If you see I’ve been quiet here, well then, you’ll have your answer to this question! I’ll be off paying heed to other priorities!
Actually an Artist 
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