Yoga - March 24-25 (6:30AM class)

March 24 (Monday) – After Sunday, I really took it easy. I notice that I feel a strain in my left side during Triangle and Fixed Firm really aggravates it. I stayed out of Fixed Firm and did a mild version of Triangle (on my left, right-side was normal). I am also avoiding Head To Knee Pose w/Stretching Pose and Final Spine Twisting Pose (left side only). The pain has mostly localized in my left trap and shoulder blade but I can still feel it (a little) in my middle back. I did all other poses normally but did not push myself in them. I took 2 Advil and had no pain or soreness after class.
March 25 (Tuesday) – I felt a lot better today. No pain in my trap although the middle back pain (left side still) was more pronounced. I took it easy in the same poses mentioned above. I am hoping tomorrow to get back into a few of them, even if mildly. Even though my muscle felt slightly strained in class, I did not feel any soreness after class today and took no medication. Only 6 more days!

Yoga - March 23 (4:30 PM class)

So, on the way to yoga today I'm thinking, "the 4:30 PM class is going to be soooo hot (because it was a hot day and afternoon classes are always hotter than my 6:30 AM class)...it's going to kick my butt." Well, it was hotter but it wasn't harder. It was actually easier. For some reason, I felt super strong (but alas, my back was bugging me). My legs felt strong and I didn't even mind Awkward Pose (and that's unheard of!). I reached my goal of "locking my knees" in Half-Moon with Hands to Feet Pose (second set). My goal was to do it just once, and just once it is going to be (for a while) because my hamstrings are going to be sore tomorrow. I also touched my head to my left knee in Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee Pose. If my back was 100%, it would have been a great day. It hurt in Fixed Firm and it was down hill from there. I have 8 days left in my challenge and I'm concerned that the strain is not going to heal properly because I am not giving it a chance to rest. I guess the next 8 days will be a test of that. Can an injury heal if you continue to exert it?
PS - My back felt great at the end of yesterday and all day today before yoga. No pain. I drank more than 3L of water yesterday and I'm thinking that has a lot to do with it.

Happy Easter! 2008

We had a great Easter brunch and egg hunt this morning. Nicky, Helena, Soren, Ry, Indika and Aiden ran around searching for eggs while the adults sat back and watched. As things were winding down, we somehow were able to get this shot of them sitting still. Happy Easter.

Ready. Set. Go!

Kevin's parents are visiting us from SC. We never want them to leave. Here is video of Gabe and his Poppie racing up the driveway.

Yoga - March 18-22

March 18 (Tuesday) 6:30AM class - Yoga was hard today. I felt like my legs weighed a ton in Locust Pose and felt overall fatigued. Ugh.
March 19 (Wednesday) 6:30AM class - Today sucked. I did not want to be there. Everything felt hard but I did it. Yeah.
March 20 (Thursday) 6:30AM class - Today was the first day that I actually complained to Kevin about not wanting to go anymore. I miss waking up with Gabe and I'm tired. Kevin said, "So how far along are you?" I said, "only 11 days left," he said, "wow, you're already half-way through, that's amazing." He is very encouraging - not even a "suck it up, Mathis" just "that's amazing." So I realized I need an attitude adjustment more than anything. It was hard today, harder than yesterday. I have something weird going on in my middle back (left side) - like something is slightly pulled. It hurts a little in Triangle and especially in Spine Twisting at the end. The good thing about all of this is (aside from helping some great kids)...when I am done with the 25 days...going to yoga 4 days a week is going to be a piece of cake!
March 21 (Friday) 6:30AM class - So I had a little talk with myself on the way to yoga today and 1) enjoyed class much more, and 2) did a lot better in my poses. I felt stronger and not fatigued. I really pushed myself in Standing Bow and Standing Head-to-Knee. I still felt my little back thing which grew into a much worse back thing later on in the day. I don't know if I was stressed getting ready for Kevin's party or fatigued from yoga or dehydrated or all of the above, but it hurt all through the party. Oh well. I'll take it easy tomorrow in yoga. By the way, I hurt it blowing up a freaking balloon. How lame is that?
March 22 (Saturday) 8AM class - I took it super easy today in yoga. I had a little pain in my back from the night before. I felt it in poses where I held my arms up and realized I felt best in backbends. Spine Twisting pose was the worst and left things on a bad note. I actually did a few more sets of Bow Pose after class and felt better. I drank a lot of water today and feel a little better. Tonight it is annoying again - like a pinch or a shooting pain (at times). As long as I don't fully pull a muscle or have it lock up, I'll be happy. Hopefully a good night's sleep, lots of water and taking it easy again tomorrow will help me get past this thing. I will go to the 4:30pm class so I can spend Easter morning with Gabe!

Yoga - March 14-17

March 14 (Friday) 6:30AM class - Nothing new to report. I am getting more and more flexible and continued to do camel (1st set using aid, 2nd without).
March 15 (Saturday) 8AM class - Today was another great yoga day. I tried camel without using my aid at all and got into both sets. It was scary but I'm so glad I did it. Kevin and Rafter went with me this morning which made it a lot more fun. Overall, I feel great. I can see a lot of change in my flexibility - especially in half moon pose and my hamstrings.
March 16 (Sunday) 8AM class - I can see my whole foot now in Standing Bow Pulling Pose. I plan to work really hard on this one to get my leg higher and my body lower. My legs are also getting higher in Bow Pose and my knees didn't kill me Fixed Firm today. Camel - both sets, no aid.
March 17 (Monday) 6:30AM class - Happy St. Patrick's Day. Today was the first day that I really didn't want to go to yoga. Once I got there it - and past the warmup - it was much better. I felt like my left leg was hyper extending (pain) in Standing Head to Knee and Standing Bow Pulling Pose. I haven't felt this in a while. It tends to happen when I haven't been in a while and have lost strength in the leg. I'll run it by the instructors tomorrow to make sure I am not doing something wrong. Fixed Firm pose was painless in my knees and Camel felt great, even though I felt a litttle pinch in my right trap while in it. After I was out I felt amazing.

March 11-13 (6:30AM class)

March 11 (Tuesday) - Had another terrible night of sleep due to coughing/cold. I went to bed at 9pm, woke up at 11pm coughing, and felt like it was 2am. Then I woke up at 2am thinking, "ok, its 5am, at least I can get up now." But nope. It was only 2am. By 6am, I was exhausted. Anyway, I went to yoga, nothing really to note, except that I couldn't breathe through my nose very well (which you do for all poses). I felt more flexible, less stiff. Pretty much the same.
March 12 (Wednesday) -Ok, today was a good yoga day. Using my aid in camel pose, I actually grabbed a foot (left). I couldn't "find" my right foot so I came out. Tomorrow, I'm going for it. Other than that, I felt good. Just sleepy. I am not sore any more. I think my muscles were just fatigued at the beginning of class.
March 13 (Thursday) - Great day! I got into camel pose - second set - without using my aid! I actually did camel! This is a big deal for me because of my neck issues. My head had to release all the way back, with the added pull of gravity. Then I reached behind (while standing on my knees) and grabbed both feet. It felt amazing. The hard part was getting out. I feel like it was a big strain on my neck and muscles along my spine. I will probably be sore tomorrow. That's ok, because now I know I can do it! I have met one of my goals for the end of the month and I'm not even half way there. Yeah for me!

March 10 (Monday) 6:30AM class

After a restless night of sleep due to upper back soreness (traps and shoulder blades), a stuffy nose and coughing, I woke up feeling good and ready for yoga. After the Motrin didn’t work, I tried the ice, heat, ice thing and the pain was gone.

At yoga, I felt really good. No soreness (yeah!), a little tightness in my right trap (got worked out between Standing Bow and Triangle Pose). My hamstrings were tight, as usual, but slowly loosening - aka not screaming. I went farther in half-moon pose than I ever have in a morning class. It looks like my flexibility is already increasing. Still felt knee pain in Fixed Firm – I think from skipping three weeks in February. My goal for the end of the month is to see the following changes in these poses:

1 – Standing Deep Breathing – To raise elbows higher and relax neck more. Gain strength and flexibility in neck and shoulders.
2 - Half Moon with Hands to Feet Pose – Increased flexibility in shoulders (get both arms evenly behind ears) and sides, back bend (get arms back) and legs straight (just once!) in hands to feet (will require big time gain in hamstring flexibility)
5 - Standing Head To Knee Pose – To have even strength and flexibility on both sides. Left leg is weaker than right. Get right foot straight (heal behind toes).
6 - Standing Bow Pulling Pose – Increased flexibility in shoulders, legs and hips. Kick leg higher, kick leg higher.
9 – Triangle Pose – Not to feel like I’m going to die. To be even on both sides.
10 – Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee – To be more even and get forehead to touch knee.
11 – Tree Pose – To have even flexibility and strength in legs.
12 – Toe Stand Pose – To have even strength in both legs.
15 – Sit up – To keep legs on floor, gain more ab strength.
18 – Full Locust Pose – To get my arms higher, open up chest and shoulders
19 - Bow Pose – Get legs higher and head looking up more.
20 – Fixed Firm Pose – To not feel like my knee tendons are going to rip in half. Is there such a thing as a compound knee tendon fracture? This is what I visualize happening. Goal: To relax more into the pose.
22 – Camel Pose – To not use my aid anymore.
23 – Rabbit Pose – Get head closer to knees. So…far…away…
24 – Head To Knee Pose w/Stretching Pose – To get both legs flat on the floor (head to knee pose) and touch head to knee. Increase flexibility in hamstrings.

That’s all. I’m not hoping for too much, right? I will comment on any changes in these poses after 25 days. This is equivalent of me doing 8 weeks of yoga in less than 1 month. This should be interesting. Maybe I’ll keep going!

My March Yoga Challenge

So my yoga studio is doing a March fundraiser called Karma is Action. The challenge is to do more yoga than you normally do and find sponsors to represent you. For example, if you regularly attend Bikram yoga two days a week, increase to four days, and get 10 people to donate $10 each. The money sends children with cancer to an oncology camp so they can get out of the hospital and have some fun out doors. All doctors volunteer their time.

This comes at a very opportune and inopportune time as I haven’t been to yoga in 3 weeks (in February) due to health reasons. I coincidentally showed up to the challenge on March 1. My challenge is to go everyday for 25 days – March 7 through March 31 – and note any improvements in my stamina, appearance, and back. I will ask 10 people for $20. I wish I could make up the four days in March that I have already missed (March 2,3,4 and 6) but that would require two classes for four days and I don’t know if that is going to happen. I also have the added pressure (and encouragement) of a bet between my friend Rafter and I to see who can do the most yoga in March – and he is already 2 days ahead of me. I’m pretty competitive so we’ll see if I bust out three days of two classes just to one up him (or maybe he’ll get my cold and miss a day!). Bad Kim. Bad.

Here are my notes starting with the first three of 25 days.

March 7 (Friday) 6:30AM class – Felt the same, nothing to note.
March 8 (Saturday) 8AM class – A little more flexible in upper back and hamstrings (places where I am always tight). Sit ups seem easier. No back pain, no soreness. I did both sets of camel without my “aid.”
March 9 (Sunday) 8AM class – I didn’t want to get out of bed because I felt so crappy from my cold. I had already slept 10 hours and was sore from lying down too long - thus no reason to lie around more. Rafter and I carpooled, thank God or I may have missed. He hated me for getting him up an hour early due to the time change.
Yoga notes…owww. Upper back and neck are so sore. Hamstrings are tight. Shoulders feel like somebody punched me. The pain in my right trap is back and it was raising hell all through class. My trap hurt in most poses until camel pose (used aid). I am often surprised at what that one big, scary posture can accomplish. It seems to work out a lot of things. I was sore when I left, took two Motrin and Kevin gave me a little back rub. I feel normal now. I’ve had a constant, dull head-ache for the past two days. I drank 3 L of water plus juice both days so its not dehydration. I may need more Potassium and salt. Here’s hoping to a less soar tomorrow.