Friday 8 March 2013

Yoga

Today was a good day.  This morning I went to a "normal" yoga class.  The class I normally attend at the Therapy Centre is all done in lying or sitting position and I have been finding this very manageable - with no increase in symptoms as a result of attending.  So, I figured I might be ready for something more.  I decided to attend a class that was taken by the same teacher that does the Therapy Centre class, so that she would know what the situation is and what I'm capable of.
I didn't feel brilliant when I got up this morning, my body felt very heavy, so it was a bit of a gamble going today.  I remembered something someone said to me a couple of weeks ago - when your body doesn't feel like it wants to do yoga, that's the best time to do it.
I strapped myself up to a borrowed heart rate monitor and went along.  The class was one and a half hours long and I didn't manage every element of the class.  I sat and rested at a few points, but never for very long and I had to adapt lots of the moves, I did lots on my knees or sitting rather than standing.  My legs felt very weak at points in the class, they struggled to support me in warrior or triangle pose for example.  I sensibly didn't do anything where I dropped my head lower than my chest - I've learnt my lesson on that one.  But, I did enough to make it worthwhile going along.  I still find it sad that my body can't cope with a yoga class, but it doesn't get me down as much as it used to, there is much more acceptance, or maybe I'm just used to it, it doesn't shock me anymore.  On a positive note I managed lots and its a starting point, my goal now is to get through a whole class, doing all the exercises.  I will know when I can do this that it will have been a significant step forward.
The yoga class was followed by lunch with girl friends, a very nice way to spend the day.

No comments:

Post a Comment