MatChat with Mina Blair
Need a regular wellbeing boost? Then this podcast is for you! We know looking after our physical and mental health is more important now than ever, and talking openly about what concerns or worries us goes a long way to lighten the load. Hearing other people's stories gives us perspective and reassurance. So, every month I invite a guest onto the "yogamat" to discuss what they have learned on their wellbeing journeys. The intention is to leave you feeling uplifted and empowered.
MatChat with Mina Blair
Managing the loss of a parent to Alzheimer's and Vascular Dementia with Tobiah
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We arrive into this world and meet the people (or person) who are going to look after us, usually our parents. From that moment on we are dependent on them/her/him until we are old enough to take care of ourselves and establish our own lives. But this relationship, be it good or bad, easy or hard, joyful or painful - let's try to take the judgement out of it - remains part of our story.
Regardless of the quality of that parental connection, the moment will come when they pass on, and assuming grandparents have passed also, the generational shift occurs. You are left as the most "senior" in family rank, or in tribal terms, you are now an "elder".
I've invited friend and singer-songwriter Tobiah back on the mat to chat with me about how it feels to "step up" in this way, something we have both experienced. We have both lost a parent to Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer's, a difficult process that involved re-evaluating the parental relationship along the way. What can we learn? Did they leave us a gift in their parting?
Inspired by the slow letting go of her mother, Tobiah wrote a beautiful song - Apples - The Long Goodbye - which features on her latest album Are We Angels. I'm therefore super excited to end the podcast with this track - enjoy!
Find Tobiah: www.tobiah.co.uk, Facebook @tobiahuk, Instagram @tobiahthomas, Twitter @tobiahtobie13