Page 32 - Peter Farrelly Issue

Natalie Grazian with her Koalaa prosthetic
because there’s a lot of opportunity to make neat little things out there.
Kaplan: I’m a leg amputee, and if you ever extend to that, let me know.
Macabuag: Maybe! I can neither confirm nor deny it. When we first started ALX, it was designed just for holding a pen, very lightweight stuff. It was designed like a slipper, more like your traditional dress shoe, for example. But as the community grew and there were more and more people using it, we suddenly had people saying, “Oh, yeah, I’m just weight-bearing on it, it’s fine.” So you realize it can actually do a lot of stuff. I see no reason why we couldn’t do all areas of limb difference, eventually. I heard you, George. I will be taking you up on that. If you want to try some,
I’ll work with you.
Kaplan: That would be awesome! Yeah, I’m super- down! Anything you want to add, Natalie?
Grazian: I could probably talk more about the benefits of yoga for people with limb differences.
Kaplan: That’d be great!
Grazian: When we don’t use one side of our body a lot, the bones will get more fragile. If you don’t bear weight or put a load on something, it will deteriorate over time. Yoga is going to strengthen bones and, of course, strengthen muscles. Twisting ourselves out of shape, when it comes to typing or pushing a cart or putting our hair up or tying shoes, all of those things.
32 ABILITY