Tiara's Tuesday Talk – Hitting Our Stride

Tiara’s Tuesday Talk – by Sara Sheibley
 

AhoyHere we are at weekthreeand a lot of us are hitting our stride, figuring out pedometers and just simply WALKING! Isn’t this exciting??? Okay so our feet may not be finding as exciting as we are but hey, a little foot rub and they’ll be thanking you for it!

Last year for the first few weeks of the walk I concentrated on assistive devices to aide in walking and things to do to relieve aches and pains. I was in a place at that time where I really couldn’t walk well. Actually… For the first 2 years I have been in that place. I’m kind of excited about this year BECAUSE I’m finally achieving the goal I set for myself prior to the first walk. (10,000 steps a day)
I don’t care if you walk   barefeetbare foot… or  in some really nice walking sneakers.
sneakers
Walking is walking is walking. Although these  little strappy heels might not be ideal for this.
strappysandles
Of course this is always an excellent way of getting steps… but, you might want to consider a leash…
walkingthedog
Back there in the last paragraph I mentioned a goal that I set back during the first year of the walk. I wanted to try to get 10,000 steps which equal roughly 5 miles of walking during the day and I’m talking routine walking. Getting up and going to the kitchen, going to work, walking at work and I sure do a lot of walking some days. This goal is a personal goal. I’m not trying to compete or beat anyone else, I just thought, or better I was told by my doctor, that 5 miles a day was a good amount of exercise for someone who can’t really exercise.
Therein lies the problem, I can’t really exercise. With Ankylosing  Spondylitis, before you are fully fused, one of the keys to delaying the fusing is to STAY ACTIVE! This also helps decrease stiffness and inflammation for some of us.
fusioninAS
Now, most of us don’t just have an achy back. We have fused hips, sore muscles, neuropathy, fatigue, pain, eye issues… The list goes on and on. Sometimes we can easily be active and other times all we want is a nap.

nap

Okay not quite like this but you get the picture…

One of the articles from last year discussed the importance of warming up. A good warm up (even every morning) can go a long way to help your stiff joints stay moving. I recently found that Qigong is useful for light stretching and can be done sitting down or standing up. I also know that a lot of people find yoga helpful and as a matter of fact we have our own resident Chair Yoga instructor in our midst!
MelindaFrisch
Today was a group walk hosted by Melinda Siegel Frisch with her team, The CL-A.S.-Y Walkers and I decided to join up with them.  First we had a little lunch and then did a nice little walk around Columbia Mall. Upper and lower level and even did a little window shopping…
 

   Some lunch…
Some lunch…
 
Getting started (great jackets!)
Getting started (great jackets!)
 
    and walking!
and walking!
 
Mall walking is commonly available early in the morning before stores are open to retail customers. Our local mall opens at 6am and this is a great way to get in a good walk either before work or if the weather is bad. Is the weatherman calling for a little rain?? Head to the mall!
Project_Profile-Columbia_Mall
Now, I’m going to go put my feet up and relax… Happy Walking!
 
SaraSheibleySara Sheibley is a wife and mother of four.  Through out most of her life she has dealt with chronic illness. Born with small fiber axonal polyneuropathy, she had aches and pains early on but wasn’t diagnosed with AS until 2008. Since then she has had to champion her own cause after she developed hemalytic anemia from treatments. Although she suffers with more than just AS, she feels that this is her primary illness and wants to be active in helping the cause. Sara & her Tiara’s Tuesday Talk will discuss a myriad of topics from assistive devices to walking help when you have other illnesses to consider.
 
 
 

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