Jim and I spent last week in Jamaica. I was scheduled to teach yoga at a resort and Jim was going to play tennis and chill (two of his favorite things). Before we left for Jamaica I decided the topic of this article would be flexibility of the mind and body. Little did I know then how well our flexibility would be tested and how many opportunities we would have to practice it. Flexibility of the body. That's actually the easier part. If you don't use it, it starts to rust. My yoga ladies (they were 65 and older) would tell me that all the time. Most of them had very little flexibility but with a few months of yoga and basic stretching they improved their flexibility and felt better. One woman was so excited she said she was able to put her pantyhose on by herself for the first time in 20 years! A few simple stretches every day will help prevent injury, pain, reduce stress and promote health. Start with a roll of the spine or circles with the joints, just start. Flexibility of the mind is a whole other ball game.

Here's our very long story short (LSS). We had an early flight on the 17th. Unfortunately, there was a snow and ice storm and our flight was cancelled. US Airways computers crashed so there was no accurate information on the website. No one answered the phones (we waited on hold for hours), so we headed to the long lines at the airport. We were told they were rescheduling people for Wednesday! That's half our vacation! LSS they were somehow able to book a flight for us that evening. After checking our luggage and waiting at the gate we were told that that flight was also cancelled. Our only hope was to somehow get to Philadelphia to catch a morning flight to Negril. So we rented a car with a GPS system (a lifesaver) and headed to load up on caffeine before the 5 hour drive to Philly. Jim doesn't usually drink caffeine so as he pulled into the Starbucks drive thru he asked me what the strongest coffee was. I replied an espresso. Jim said, "I'll have a grande espresso please." For you "nonStarbucks" people, that's a whole lot of caffeine. Once we all stopped laughing the staff explained to Jim he would probably O.D. on that much coffee. With a more appropriate amount of caffeine we made it to Philly by 1am. After a few brief hours of sleep we headed to the Philly airport at 5am. The airport was a nightmare! There were thousands of people trying to get out. We waited outside in the cold for two hours (that line was much shorter than the one inside). People were missing flights, the airport staff were sick of people, tempers flared, it wasn't a pleasant thing. Jim and I remained optimistic and made new friends with our line buddies. Fifteen minutes after our flight was scheduled to leave we got our gate passes and sprinted to the gate. I arrived 1 minute before Jim. The ticket agent said she would let me on the plane but she wouldn't wait for Jim! Two more people showed up, she wouldn't let any of us on. We couldn't believe we had come this far, the plane was right there and we couldn't get on it. As I had done many times in that 24hour period I visualized sending myself and those around me the feeling of love. A miracle took place. The phone rang. It was the plane calling and telling the agent to send us down!!! They closed the door behind us as we entered the very empty plane. I felt sorry for all those people stuck in line and missing their flights. Well, we landed in Jamaica, warmth and sunshine, ahhh, but no luggage. We were in those (now very warm and getting very ripe) clothes for 48hours. Finally the luggage came. We threw on our bathing suits and headed for the ocean. As we sat in our lounge chairs sipping a pina colada we agreed it was all worth it. The Jamaican people are very warm and friendly. My yoga classes were fun. We made new friends and had some new experiences. We arrived safely back in Hartford, and as humor would have it my luggage didn't arrive with me.

Being flexible is a little easier with the help of friends. Many thanks to our awesome neighbors and friends Marie, Jerry, Amy, Colin and Todd, that schlepped us to and from the airport and watched our house, as well as our dog, and greeted us with martinis on our return. We have the best neighbors in the world!

We are all presented with opportunities everyday to remain flexible. As we all know things don't always go the way we want, or plan. So what do we do when presented with a flexibility challenge?

1. Assume the new plan is for the best. I remind myself there's a big picture and even though I can't see it, I believe I'm being guided in a better direction.

2. Remain optimistic. There's always more than one way to the top of the mountain and you may enjoy the new route even better.

3. Keep a sense of humor. It makes everything far more enjoyable. We were the only people by the pool in long pants. You got to laugh at that stuff.

4. Focus on what IS working. Focusing on what isn't working will just put you in a foul mood and create more stuff that isn't working for you.

5. Patience is a virtue. At least thats what I've been told at least 6 million times. I've been told I'm not the most patient of people. I am however very patient with clients, sick people, older people and children. As far as patience with anyone else, it's a crap shoot. ;-)

6. Perspective, keep your perspective. Most things aren't life threatening. It could always be much worse.

7. Gratitude, Being grateful is life's magic dust. An attitude of gratitude attracts even more to be grateful for.

8. Get great neighbors that will help you out and serve martinis!

"It is a wise person who adapts themselves to all contingencies; it's the fool who always struggles like a swimmer against the current." Source unknown

Copyright (c) 2007 Char Cooper RN, MSN, APRN