Practice yoga regularly

...I blew off my yoga class tonight. Kitty’s radiation therapy starts tomorrow, so I’m going to need that sanity break soon. Maybe Wednesday night.

...only to discover that class doesn’t start until Aug 13. Don’t I feel like a dork. :)

Well, next week I’ll be back to my Monday class until then.

It’s as difficult as ever, but I really love the Iyengar style, and I have a great teacher. He challenges us all the time, but he also teaches how to do things correctly.

I felt kind of odd after my last yoga class on Monday night. I had a couple of moments of dizziness on Wednesday (the day I wrote that entry). I fully intended to go to class again on Thursday, but I was massively ill. Went to ER. Said I had gastroenteritis (which I’d apparently had for a week).

Had to go back (with different symptoms) on Friday. Oh joy, I also had a kidney stone.

And a cold, which is why I initially intended to stay home Thursday.

So I may be out of the loop on this one for a while, though I’m going to ask my regular doctor tomorrow what kind of exercise would be a good idea (and what I should not do).

Weirdly, I have no kidney stone pain.

Today, I was sort of wincing when I moved my shoulder and got into a conversation with one of the Indian guys at work. He’s the second Indian guy in the office who tried yoga once, and stopped because it kicked his ass.

Yes, it’s hard. No, you should not let that intimidate you. The hardest thing, especially in the beginning, is being able to lift your body weight in new and interesting ways. This is especially difficult if, like me, you’re carrying extra weight.

I pointed out that I’d been doing this for 14 months and I’m not in great shape. I feel better most of the time.

As my teacher Ben would say, the first rule is: don’t strain.

Do what you can, try some things you don’t think you can do, but don’t strain.

Yoga kicked my ass, but I’m sure it’ll recover. Eventually.

I did sit out a couple of asanas, but I did pretty well overall.

I’m sticking with it, but at impulse speed. Currently have bronchitis. Bronchitis bad.

I’ve been ill for a week, so I really don’t want to go tonight, yet I know I really need to go, you know? If I don’t get back into the habit now, then when?

I will go, I’m just whinging.

I hadn’t been to one in a month, and boy was I stiff! I never push myself as hard as when a yoga instructor is guiding me.

I’ve had chronic fatigue for the last couple of weeks, was starting to worry about myself. Seriously.

Today I hurt, but I’m not fatigued. I have more energy even though I ache everywhere.

Interesting, huh? I’d forgotten how much energy my muscles seem to bind inside themselves.

After my last entry, my mother discovered that she had endometrial cancer. They got her into surgery very quickly, so it was approximately three weeks from first symptom to cure (and yes, it was completely removed, so it’s cure).

She’d been going with me to yoga, so it was hard, especially last week when she was in the hospital.

What she did say, though, was that yoga really helped her: not just in relaxing during scary parts and recovering from surgery, but also in being more in tune with her body that she would notice the symptoms and not discount them.

Pretty important.

So, for those of you who think you might want to get around to it, I offer my mom’s thoughts if they help you.