Yoga

I hurt my back about 2 months ago at work. I was terrified when it happened. I had never had a back injury before and I didn't know how serious it was going to be. After a few days, I felt much better. After a week, I could barely feel a trace. Last Thursday I was teaching my normal 2:30 babies class. As I stood up on the trampoline, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. Immediately I felt the pain shoot down through my left leg. I was mid-song, so I tried to keep my reaction to a minimum. Two minutes later, I hobbled down the trampoline and had to have the other coach I c0-taught with, take over. I was in medium pain the rest of the day. I took it easy with the same precautions as before, but was more worried than ever that it was now a recurring injury. Lyle encouraged me to not just focus on strengthening my back, but to also strengthen my core and stretch when I woke up and went to bed every night to help prevent this injury in the future. Then, he offered to take a yoga class with me. I jumped at the opportunity because I had actually been thinking about taking a class myself (the day before). We agreed I would rest the weekend and we would take the class the following week.

I was out of commission for the next day, then was struck with yet ANOTHER sore throat and cold. This one woke me up out of the blue at 3am on Sunday morning with the the need to hover over the porcelain throne. It was weird because even though I had puked, it wasn't a stomach issue that I was having. Immediately my throat was in pain and I had flu-like symptoms, but no stomach issues occurred from there on out (and no, I am not pregnant). After three more days of throat pain, I went to the Doctor AGAIN. They should donate a wing of their office to me with the type of service I am giving them. No, I didn't have strep, which is good because I don't want to have my tonsils taken out. Yes, I did get a referral by demand. I need to have an ENT check out my entire system because this is NOT normal. My doctor did suggest I try the "popular neti pot". Instead I bought the sinus rinse because you have a little more control with how strong the water flow is. I must say I am satisfied. Yes, my cold is on it's way out! I was due because I've had it now for 5 days, but luck would have it that my allergies are kicking in to replace the cold I have fought through. I will be using the sinus rinse twice a day for the next YEAR to clean out my sinuses. Take THAT body!
Now that I got my throat in check, it was time to work on my back -- or I should say my ENTIRE body. Lyle and I took our yoga class at our local gym and it was quite an experience. Tejal, our instructor, actually seemed impressed with our form and balance and listening skills for being beginners. We were, and probably will always be, the only two people in the Thursday night class, so we got a private session. She explained all the names of the positions, which Lyle immediately joked were named after people (because he kept hearing her say words sounding like "jon" at the beginning of a few poses). She didn't get the joke and responded by explaining that the poses were named after animals in nature. She doesn't get his humor yet, but I'm sure after a few weeks she'll catch on. Lyle was such a sport and so strong. I was also impressed myself. I would like to say I have an above average balance because of my dancing background, but Lyle was never far off from me - he has SOLID core strength - which I am so jealous of. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back for more. I am totally sold on doing Yoga and improving my flexibility and breathing skills. I know that part of my throat issue is that I breathe with my mouth open a lot, and Yoga emphasizes you breathe with your mouth closed, so that will help me as well.

Well there you have it, we have gone "New York" by succumbing to Yoga, but I never understood how good it felt. Don't worry, we won't be wearing shirts that say "ohm" or anything.
Namasta!