[very long response.. mainly for ltr..
probably just raving on for others..
just scroll on bye
- chin up little one.. its not the end of the world -
i also had cardiac fibrillation [fast uneven heartbeat]
requiring stopping heart and restarting it again,
to regain normal rythem.. it went off twice more,
second time lasted til next day then went back
without being shocked, third time in, it came good
in emergency, and i wanted to go home..
but stayed in for observation etc..
since then, about 6 yrs, no problems..
at the time i was living alone in a house i was repairing
reflooring, repainting etc, for sale, and cleaning up
another large backyard etc for sale, after wife of 25yrs
went down to breast cancer, so lots of stress around..
thats all water under my bridge now.. all in the past..
just as it will be for you,, and your unfolding future..
the high blood pressure phase that accompanied that
atrial fibrillation as an after effect, look time to correct,
[didnt stop me riding tho] which has included lifestyle
factors, such as yoga and meditation..
i hadnt been practicing traditional karate for a while
only rarely attending the dojo and not really following
a regular meditation flow.. my meditation was being
influenced by insistent thoughts and stress etc..
anyway, the point is that even with all that, my body
and brain came thru it well, and the bp is now very
good [last 132/63], with the only change being
lower caffeine intake [i drank lots of coffee]..
now i have a couple of weak soy coffees
which brain thinks are great, plus green tea
[teabag pre dipped in hot water to get out
the main hit of caffeine] and red grape juice..
[cant drink wine due to unrelated meds]
also take resveretrol and coq10 supplements
plus 3 x 2000mg fish oil caps daily [overdose
which is about to be reduced]..
went thru a regular daily long morning walk
[along rocky coastline, air full of negative ions]
plus been practicing yoga for around 6yrs now..
at almost 67 im in great shape, feel good,
dont feel 'old' etc.. still do my karate kata etc,
and various related conditioning, but nowhere
near earlier fanatic levels.. not needed now..
eat less.. = fewer calories.. important as we age..
mainly one meal per day, usually new zealand hoki
[fish] plus fruit and veg [love apples] and veg
and fruit juice.. like soup, esp pea soup..
thats me, but the principles also apply to you..
everything you do for your own benefit
will be effective on some real level
within brain and whatever physiology
you are tending, such as arteries etc..
your heart 'wants' to beat normally,
strongly and efficiently..
walking or some other normal regular movement
[swimming gently etc] are good, and will help..
yoga is a handy movement regime pretty well
everywhere these days, and very well worth
doing daily, in structured classes and/or
own practice at home.. anyone can do yoga..
every movement, has a simple version and
harder variations.. like motorcycles, the 250
version if right for you, is the best..
dont be put off by advanced students doing
advanced yoga.. they started just like us..
if its walking, take it seriously, good comfy shoes etc
nice place to walk [seashore is magic], no need to
rush or push it.. isnt necessary.. regularity and
nice smooth walking is the best..
if not used to it, start out walking easy for 10mins,
turn around and walk back home..
increase distance gently, as it feels good..
meditation is always good, for anyone..
but as a natural anti stress agent it is probably
the best form of rest state you can have..
correct sitting positions [as in yoga etc]
are good, but not the most important thing..
somewhere nice, quiet, shaded, no disruptions
music on, tv, radio, phone etc, all switched off..
select your meditation place or area..
a nice spot close to a wall in your bedroom, say..
sitting on a soft but firm cushion or folded blanket,
in any comfortable position you like, back not
hunched but relaxedly upright, head balanced
over neck support, shoulders relaxed, elbows in,
hands resting together in your lap, eyes closed..
in this position, having given cues to brain for
relaxation, such as taking a few nice deeper
breathes into the lower abdomen [thus diaphragm]
and, 'aaaahh' type natural exhalations [as if after
dropping off a backpack or load etc], simply
quietly observe your breathe as it enters
then gently falls out again.. not forcing
either way, or trying to direct it..
just being aware of it going in, then
falling gently out again..
this will have positive effects on heart rate..
and on rythm and basic heart function..
heart 'wants to' beat normally..
then, if it happens, just notice your heart beating..
it might me sensed near your ears or throat of
front chest, as a gentle rythmic beatll
if you dont hear/feel it, doesnt matter,,
if you like, take a pulse for a couple mins..
with regular practice [twice daily best]
whatever process you do will become just
an automatic thing, without need for directed
attention etc.. eventually just sitting,
then entering meditation..
there are all sorts of meditation forms..
no need to get involved in religious things..
most important thing at first, is actually
thinking of and selecting your meditation spot,
then actually sitting there quietly, relaxed,
upright and balanced, letting tension fade..
[as it will, as a natural consequence]..
even just observing breathe, simply being
aware of feeling relaxed there, can be
meditation for many people..
ie, the start to their meditation..
you might want to use a mantra,
not the 'magic' kind or religious thing,
but a simple nice sound with no special
meaning, which brain can use as a sort of
vehicle inwards, following the thought of
the mantra itself, not any particular meaning..
most important thing to do is to start..
so its a combination of appropriate meds
together with lifestyle variations to suit
good anti stress heart functioning..
when my heart was going thu its phases
i bought a portable small heart monitor
and took my pulse regularly, including
keeping a notebook for bp and any other
relevant observations etc..
this is good for your gp and specialist,
but also part of alerting your brain to
a serious intention to return to normal..
that is no cosmic fantasy, but a real
and natural brain function potential..
i bought black beauty originally to ride to yoga,
rather than wasting time waiting for the bus..
ie, even when bp was still high, i was riding..
bp can elevate in various normal sitations
and is not a reason to not ride..
so long as there is no likelyhood of
serious complications etc..
working on stress, will have beneficial effects..
including walking it away and meditating
it away, and any other nice relaxing thing
you like doing.. whatever..
wont go into that here, but whatever
facilitates natural relaxation, is good..
esp if you have someone who can
give eye/forehead massages etc..
if you can afford it, any massage by
any genuine therapist is good..
ie, for the relaxation effect alone..
nice soft piano or violin music is good,
and recognised by brain, so if you like
music, make use of that as well..
[beethovens 'moonlight sonata' the slow
movement is imo very nice music for
relaxation, but there is lots of good music..]
if you play piano or something, thats good too..
as to motorcycles, you can still be around them,
even at dealers etc.. if its possible you can also
get hold of some unloved old motorcycle
and give it the attention it deserves..
without riding it,, yet..
i enjoy watching motogp, moto2 and moto3
which is readily available today and can be
downloaded from kickass torrents for free..
its not riding obviously, but its still motorcycles
and motorcycle riding.. there were 97,000 people
at recent assen motogp.. they werent riding,
but were sure enjoying the motorcycle racing..
im not assuming anything here, just hints..
no doubt you already follow the great
and wonderful valentine rossi and so on..
just pointing out that this is also motorcycling
at very high levels, and can be part of your
continuing involvement and 'hit' of
motorcycling...
motogp torrents we download include garage
and pit lane walkthrus etc, with good and even
detailed views of all the lovely motorcycles..
brain recognises them all, like friends..
is there no-one you can ride pillion with..
while not riding solo, its still 'low flying'
on a motorcycle..
plenty of people have had these sort of heart
problems, and today with rational management
and good lifestyle assistance its not something
to stop us from enjoying our lives