Skip to main content

Pushing onward

I didn't get to go to yoga yesterday because I didn't really plan very well. So I was glad to get to go today. On a day like today, yoga is the only thing that gets me off my couch. At any rate, I went to the late class, which I think is my favorite the more I go to different class times. It's less hot and less crowded. It was led by someone different than I expected, but I liked her so it was good. I'm starting to realize that even though every class is the same, the instructors can really make a difference in how hard I push myself. I pushed today. The standing series is an hour long and it's meant to build strength and balance. I have a very difficult time with some of it because my feet start to hurt really badly. I asked her about this after class and she said that it was very normal and that I just needed to build strength in my feet, which would come with time. I tried to work through the pain as much as I could, but I had to stop and massage my feet out after I started several poses. Once we got to the sitting series, it was mostly smooth sailing until I got a splitting headache about halfway in. The nice thing is that between each pose you lay on your back and get your breath back. This really helped my head feel better quickly. But I couldn't really do the rabbit pose where you sit on your knees and roll forward on your head to stretch out your spine.
I asked the instructor about what to do when I get really emotional in class as well. She said if I just needed to sit and cry in the class it would be fine and that nobody would really notice if it was tears or sweat because everyone's all sweaty anyway. She also commended me for coming to 6 classes in 9 days. I've already noticed and improvement in my flexibility. There is one pose where you stand with your legs spread and attempt to get your forehead to the floor with your hands behind your ankles. I was able to get my hands to my feet for about 20 seconds today and I haven't been able to do that yet. Normally I use my hands to support my torso so I don't stretch down too far. I went to class on a fairly full stomach which made some of the torso stretches really uncomfortable. I'll have to remember not to eat so much even hours beforehand if I don't want to feel like my gut is pushing against my ribs.

Now I'm eating rocky road ice cream. But I'm only have one scoop. I feel I've earned it. Sort of. I should probably not be eating at all considering I had olive garden for lunch today (we couldn't afford it, but Paul's been working 10 consecutive days, so I felt like he needed it) and I didn't choose healthy options because I wanted to enjoy myself for a change. Tomorrow will be better. Although being so dirt poor makes it difficult to purchase healthy food. I have tons of pasta and no veggies. Oh well. Perhaps it's time to consider taking a break from Weight Watchers. It will be a year in November and only 9 pounds of weight loss on my part. I think I either need to buckle down and earn the privilege of going, or I need to take a break for a few months. It's a bit more difficult when you can't afford food though.

Comments

  1. It sounds like you have a great instructor! Her advise to you was really sound. Weight loss is so hard. I have weight I'm trying to lose too and I get so frustrated because it feels like I just go in circles. Do you have a friend that you can buddy up with and be accountable with?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Way to go, Beth, you sound so motivated! I've always wanted to try Bikram yoga.. maybe I'll tag along sometime!

    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oh why not?

I try not to post too frequently - like twice a day - because I don't want anyone to stop reading my blog! But I can't help myself. I'm watching the biggest loser. This is dangerous for me because it's so inspiring that I want to get out and do all this crazy stuff to get healthier. I think that what I'm doing is probably sufficient for the time being. However I do have some different things I want to try once I've gotten a bit further with my couch to 5k program. Here's my list so far: Water Aerobics - I started to do this once and I loved it, but then I had a bunch of snafus that prevented me from getting into it regularly. I think that these can be resolved now since we've moved and I got a card for the local parks and rec. Some form of Martial Arts - I did this some as a teenager and I really enjoyed it. Problem is that it's not cheap and it's a bit embarrassing to do as an adult in a beginner class. I'm sure they have classes for t...

If only I had stuck with it

While we were in Los Angeles this last weekend we went to visit Paul's cousin Emily (Hi Emily!), her husband Nick, and their daughter Kate. She had asked me how the exercise was going and I told her that it was hard but I needed to stick it out. We ended up talking about all of the things we've started but quit somewhere along the way. And I started thinking about what it would be like if I'd just stuck to weight watchers or an exercise routine or any of the things I've started that would have had me looking and feeling better by now. There's a book by Malcolm Gladwell called "Outliers". Gladwell talks about a study by Anders Ericsson that shows most people that have mastered a skill have had to spend 10,000 in their life up to that point practicing and working on that skill. I've always considered this relevant to my career but I've never really related it to my weight loss goals. But now I am. If I want to not only improve and succeed at takin...

Tedium

I'm getting kind of tired of tracking my calories. It's become more tedious than it was originally. I think this is partly because I went three days without tracking. Now it feels like a daily chore. I have incentives however to continue. I may as well just come out and say that Paul and I are starting to research and learn about having babies. ***WE ARE NOT PREGNANT YET***. (everyone always asks whenever I mention the "b" word) Nor do we expect to be for at least a few months if not longer depending on how things work out. There are several factors to consider such as whether I get this job in the fall, whether we can afford the birth we want right away, where we're going to put a baby, and other things as well. That said, I need to get healthy for any of this to matter. My biggest concern at this point is that I might have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I've read about four different books that describe the symptoms and I match every single one of ...