Acoustic guitar and yoga

In my early twenties, I read an article in a Guitar Player magazine about unfortunate guitarists getting something called "carpal tunnel syndrome." This condition causes pain and numbness in the hands and fingers, and can debilitate a guitarist's playing ability.

I remember how thankful I was not to suffer from that condition. Until my late twenties, that is, when I became a computer programmer by trade. It seemed that my wrists could do one of two things if I was to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome. Either play guitar. Or type on a keyboard for several hours a day, which was a requirement of my paying job.

Many nights I would wake in the middle of the night with numbness starting at the tips of my left hand’s little and ring fingers. If I ignored this sign and continued typing on a computer keyboard for several hours a day and playing guitar, the next night that numbness would be a little higher in my wrist, then my arm, then my shoulder, then my other arm, until I woke in the middle of the night with no feeling in either of my arms. Both, completely cold, clammy, and dead weight. My arms would be paralyzed. I would have to sit up and shake my arms using my torso until they would finally wake up. Not with a tingling, like when a limb “falls asleep” which everyone experiences, but rather they would simply start feeling again. I would be able to move them again.

Take it from me, it is very frightening to wake in the middle of the night and not be able to feel or move your arms. It was strong motivation to either stop playing guitar or stop typing on a computer keyboard for several hours a day. As much as I love the former, the latter is what pays my bills, and is what I chose. Once in a while, I would try to add playing guitar back into my life. I’d try to play just a little bit, adding a little bit more each day, but over and over the carpal tunnel symptoms would reappear.

I've always had a strong interest in Chinese martial arts and qigong, and have studied tai chi, bagua, xingyi, and many qigong forms over the past twenty+ years. I’d also dabbled in yoga now and then, but only in the last couple months have I begun practicing yoga on a regular and frequent basis.

Already, since starting to regularly practice yoga, I can play acoustic guitar again. Every day, my playing becomes stronger. There have been no signs of carpal tunnel syndrome. Knock on wood! I know I shouldn't be superstitious, but it really scares and freaks me out to admit this positive news. I am so incredibly thankful. I sincerely and humbly pray that I can keep this benefit, that I can keep playing my guitar for longer and longer periods of time, and still be able to program computer software because, yes, I've loved computers and computer programming since I was 8 years old. I've loved music all my life.

When I tell people I’m a musician, many times they think that means I’m saying I’m a professional musician. That I make my living making music. In high school, I would frequently fantasize about that, while my parents would gently guide me back on a course to a technical profession. My grades were always high, especially in math and science, and it seemed a natural progression to go to GA Tech and study Electrical Engineering. Actually, I started as Undecided Engineering, but since I had my first electrical set at a young age, I thought electric circuits were fascinating and exciting. Since GA Tech didn't offer a Computer Science degree at the time, I chose Electrical Engineering, since it offered a lot of computer related courses.

I learned to integrate flux capacitance, measure electron and hole flow across doped substrates, analyze stationary and dynamic object motion, build logic gates, code a software compiler, and how to go out drinking too often, skip classes, sometimes drop classes that I skipped too much, and play the “I don’t want to get shafted” game along with my peers, while maintaining a high GPA (mostly due to almost straight A’s in math) and graduating with honor.

When I say that I’m a musician, what I mean is that music is how I think, how I express myself, and how I relate to others. I love listening to music. I love dancing to music. I love playing music. I play other instruments besides guitar. I had to, since guitar was out of the picture for so many years. Piano doesn't give me carpal tunnel symptoms. I've never been as good at piano, but I do love playing it. I picked up other instruments: drums (sometimes causes carpal tunnel), harmonica (my breathing isn't compatible with it somehow), saxophone (I love playing it, but have very little skill and no time to practice now that I can play acoustic guitar again), accordion (fun, but again I don’t play it enough to get very good), singing (usually only to myself), and electronic instruments and compositions.

I've been so happy to play acoustic guitar again. I would like to thank my yoga teachers at Community Fitness. You are all beautiful people and I am beyond thankful for your classes. May I be happy. May I be healthy in body and mind. May I be safe from inner and outer harm. May I live with ease and well being  May you be happy. May you be healthy in body and mind. May you be safe from inner and outer harm. May you live with ease and well being. Namaste.