Sunday, January 16, 2011

Day 8

My back has taken quite a beating in my life.  I was pretty rough on my body in sports as a kid.  On top of general wear and tear, I've broken my coccyx and T4 and sprained my neck.  I've had pretty consistent back and neck pain for the last 4 years and it's gotten consistently worse over the last year.  C1 has a tendency to jam itself into the Occiput at the base of my skull, causing severe neck and head pain that leads to multiple days of migraines.  I've been going to a Chiropractor since I was 17, but it hasn't had the same lasting effect in the last few years.  I knew I needed a big change and that Bikram Yoga might be it for me.  In the first two months of taking sporadic classes, I had days that were better and days that were worse.  There were days that I felt lithe and limber and days where my muscles spasmed and I'd be in bed with a migraine as soon as I got home from work.  The longer I went between classes, the worse my body's reactions would be.  As soon as I'd manage a few days of classes in a row, I'd have an upswing and feel better.  Now that I've had 8 consecutive days, I'm seeing a big difference.  I still ache and need more sleep, but my back is responding well.  I've had fewer headaches and less neck pain in the last week.  My lower back is straightening out, correcting the anterior tilt that Chiropractic has only fixed momentarily.  In class, I'm noticing a big difference, too.  I'm getting bigger and bigger back bends with each class.  Today, I was able to see a foot of my mat in Camel Pose!  I'm pretty proud of myself for that.  It was a lot of work and it felt great the whole time.  It felt like class flew by, but it didn't feel rushed.  My breathing stayed pretty even during poses and it was easier to deepen it during Savasana.  I felt like I was hearing everything the teacher was saying.  I had a few dizzy spells and fidgeted a bit with the sweat on my face.  I did take a few sips of water, but my mouth felt really dry.  As soon as Ash and I got home from yoga yesterday, I started pestering her about coming with me today.  She'd answer maybe and that she'd see how she felt tomorrow.  First thing this morning, I asked if she was coming with me to noon or 3:30 class.  We went to the noon class!  She's rocking it out, sore but feeling good about it.  It's nice to talk with her about class now that she's experienced it for herself.  I've got to get up and hang the laundry to dry.  Then I must chug some water, I'm so thirsty!

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