“Feeling Lonely? Let’s Chat and Support Each Other”

Goodness fiorentina - the very mention of a chainsaw makes me think massacre, and not just of apple trees!
I have an old Victoria plum tree that my gardener prunes each year and there was one year when I really thought he must have done it a nasty! But the next year it was laden with fruit so obviously it was good for it..

Good morning.
It's a lovely sunny day here. Washing is out but the garden is in a bit of a state.
I pruned one of my apple trees a couple of days ago. I went a bit mad with the loppers. I couldn't get my chain saw to work, otherwise my poor tree might be more scalped than it is!

Have a good day everyone.🌞

We are all going to benefit from this Taichinan and Polnan. 🌟

Thank you so much Taichinan!

I shall follow your instructions and that will be my mission for today.

Hello Ferry and everyone. I'm so sorry to hear of your battle with pain Ferry. That's so debilitating, and you have my sympathy
I've just watched the tai chi link Polnan has put on for you, and it is excellent for what you need, which is something slow and gentle to keep you supple. However don't try to follow and do all that at first go. To start with, put a chair in front of you and stand behind it. Place your hands on the back, shoulder width apart, for support. Now place your feet so that they line up with the back legs of the chair, i.e. they will be shoulder width apart like your arms. Now, when you bend your knees do so by sitting back into your hip joints, keeping your shins straight. It's the tiniest move. Ensuring you keep your shins straight as you sit back means that you're not putting unnecessary pressure into your knees. Perfecting that move is your first step. If you can, place your chair side on to a full length mirror to make certain you're not moving your knees forward. As well as that, you're aiming to move slowly, back into the hips, and slowly up to standing again. You have the chair to hold on to so at this stage it's this tiny move you are concentrating on. The next stage, once you're confident with that little move, is to let go of the chair back (but keep your hands hovering above it so you can hold it again if you need to, and do the sit back move again (and again and again!). That's the very first part of tai chi and what you will have learnt is the correct tai chi stance - feet shoulder width apart, sitting slightly back into your hip joints and with knees slightly bent and directly above your feet (no knock knees). Tai chi (and good balance) is all about posture. You'll see from the video clip that the moves are very slow and smooth. Please feel free to pm me anytime if you want more or have questions. But don't go on to follow the video until you have mastered the stance. Enjoy, and I hope it helps. It's even more pleasant to practice outside in the garden!

Thank you polnan.

Just watching the first few minutes made me feel very relaxed, such a beautiful setting. I do live by the sea so I could find a similar place to do it, but with my luck at the moment I'd fall off the cliff .

Once the morning stiffness has worn off I'm going to give this one a try.

Ferry23

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJiBkA7FxSw

I have been doing this for some years now,, off and on I admit, I am not good at doing "exercises" I am 88 now.. and coming up to another birthday this week, I have been very fortunate with my health ,however, I do have arthritis and heart problems... I find it a very simple movement exercise and alter it slightly to suit me...

Ferry23
Pain and illness do get you down at times and it is difficult to feel good. I have found through experience that you have to do what you can when you can. I do hope that tai chi is a good excercise to help your movement. If you cannot get out for a walk maybe sitting in a garden in the sunshine will help lift your mood. There are lots of birds collecting bits for their nests at the moment. It looks too exhausting for me but they keep on going, fascinating to watch. I wish you well and hope you find a good way to manage your pain.

Thank you Indiebee.

I'm not really very brave - and I don't want to make myself sound like a sad victim, but I do feel at the moment that my life is dominated by pain. I hate feeling this way and I'm sure with the lighter evenings and this lovely weather, which I hope will continue, will perk me up. I think the gout episode got me down a bit but that's pretty much gone now.

I've been reluctant to try random tai chi on You Tube as I don't have the knowledge to know which ones are good for me. Hence my delight in seeing there some tai chi people on here.

Grannylynj - I always adore the ethereal sound of Aled Jones's voice singing 'Walking in the Air' from 'The Snowman'. Pure magic.

ferry23 - you have had a long and awful experience with pain. I am so sorry. I hope Taichinan will suggest some balance exercises for you - she is the expert! Maybe by PM or giving a link here to a YouTube chanel.
When Tai Chi was available near me for just a term, I googled for films as well as attending the class. There are lots of films of different practitioners on YouTube and it might be just a question of finding one you like and copying? Anyway - sending best thoughts and hope you are bravely able to carry on (no alternative I expect, as we all find out!)

I just want to say how nice it is reading about all the various things you all get up to and all your family news.

I can't add anything interesting, unfortunately I was told this week that my osteoarthritis which is predominately in my spine, foot and hand has spread to my knee, my neck and the other hand so it's a battle for me to get out much. The one thing I'd love to be able to do is take a walk in this glorious weather. My children live some way away, I don't have any grandchildren or siblings. But such is life and you have to make the most of what you've got.

And to add to it - last week I got gout in my ankle! Horribly painful but quickly treated by my GP so a lot better now.

About a year ago I was referred to the pain management team - the lady I spoke to said she would send some links to living with, and overcoming, pain as well as their recommended online tai chi. After many phone calls chasing this up I eventually got the links about pain management about 4 weeks later but in the end I gave up trying to get the tai chi link. So I'd be very interested to see if those of you who practice it might have some suggestions? I do feel it might help my balance and would give me something to do.

Indiebee I wouldn’t have noticed the miscount

Remember Aled Jones when he was a wee boy ‘

Left one out! 🦆😯

Thank you Truffle43 !! That’s very funny. 🦆🦆🦆 😁

Hello everyone something to cheer you up.
Today I was out walking my little dog and could hear several ducks. Looking around I saw 4 ducks sat in a row on a thatched cottage roof. It made me chuckle to myself as I thought that’s what sitting ducks are…. I do know that’s not the case but it made me laugh. It’s funny what can get you chuckling when not expected.

It so hard, Sallyforth, when there's nobody there to share your worries with and the "wee small hours" are the worst time when problems grow arms and legs. I do hope that when daylight came things fell back into some sort of proportion. I hope you're feeling better now and get a good night's sleep tonight.

Sallyforth
I hope things worked out for you today . Those early hours are awful when you feel like you do. I do hope you find this chat group of some comfort to you. Huge big hugs.

Thank you for your kind thoughts Indiebee. I don't know how good wishes from a stranger help to make you feel better, I only know that they do! Thank you!

Sallyforth - we are here for you as best we can. Hope things are getting better with the daylight - the witching hour of 5.40am is not good.

Lkealey - do tell us how your grandchildren see the world. What ages are they? I don’t have any, so am not sure if their generation are collectively happy and looking forward to their futures. Are they? What do they believe in? I hope they are as optimistic as I was in the 1940s and 50s…

Thank you Qldom. Things may look better when daylight comes.

Hope you will soon be feeling better Sallyforth.

I'm feeling unwell and very alone this morning. I have to wait until my DD gets home from a work commitment tonight to tell her I can't do something she's relying on me for. It would be unfair to burden her whilst she's at a work meeting away from home. She lives in Germany so not easy for her to get here. The problem with living alone!

I think this is so important to have page like this to chat openly about issues we're having with our generation alpha grandchildren.