My shoulder *still* hurts. My arm is still sore. Have to admit, I never envisioned this degree of 'after effect' from the Swine Shot, but I'm still glad I got it. Lady's is coming up any day now, so there will be a few days of R&R and I should be fine.
Today, I did the 'Yin Liver' sequence from the Sarah Power's DVD. I did the entire thing, plus a long Savasana, plus some time on the Acuball: 90 minutes total. I took a hot bath after that. My shoulder (I'm pretty sure it's the rhomboid) is still sore, but it's a different kind of sore now - more of a 'muscle sore' rather than a 'pinched nerve sore'. Hopefully, it will feel better tomorrow.
Cristina asked a great question in the comments. She's a night owl and finds it impossible to get up and do her practice in the early morning hours, as recommended by 'the gurus'. She wanted to know what time I get up for my practice. Is it really necessary to practice at an early hour to get full benefit of a yoga practice?
I don't think so. I believe that the best yoga practice is a consistent yoga practice. If doing yoga early in the day helps you to keep a consistent practice, by all means get up early. But there are also benefits to practising later in the day (my body tends to be more open during an afternoon or evening practice).
My 'yoga time' has varied over the years, based on when I work, when I wake and other factors in my life. I've gone through 'night owl' phases. I've practised at noon. I've even practised in the afternoon or twilight hours (that's the schedule I was on *last year*).
At the moment, I get up at 5:45 a.m. There's a big construction project going on across the street and it's noisy. I like to finish my meditation before it starts. If I rise early, I'm able to eat breakfast and tidy the apartment before I sit for meditation at 6:30. After I meditate, I take Princess Fur for a walk and then I do my yoga practice (usually around 8ish). I try to go to sleep before 10.
After the construction ends, I may sleep a bit longer.
More and more, I'm realising that there's no 'perfection' to be found in this practice, no 'standard' to adhere to - at least none that applies equally to each and every person. Whenever I stumble across a 'rule' in yoga, I listen very carefully and then apply it to my own life. My practice is my laboratory; this is where I learn what works for me.
What doesn't work, I let go of.
As for the gurus, I'm sure early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise is a piece of cake if you're living in a cave or an ashram. In real life? Not so much...
3 comments:
hi Kai
hope you feel better. go vermonts are so in favor of this vaccination that they don't let any reporting of side effects slip. but in conversations with one person who had it, she had a very bad breathing infection as a result of it. what does Aunt Media say? no adverse effects reported.
hugs
Arturo
I hope your arm gets back to normal soon!
I do love Sarah's DVD. Her yin practice really does "clear things out" when I do it.
What is an Acuball?
I agree, time of practice isn't really the issue. More about consistancy. However, I think the body does crave routine. So picking at time you know you can keep and trying to attain that as much as possible works for me!
@Arturo
I think your spell check was in overdrive the day you left that comment, but I figured it out ;-)
Public Health was pretty clear about the side effects of the shot. Nothing I experienced was too out of the ordinary. However, the fact that I do 90 minutes of rigourous vinyasa yoga each day and teach yoga classes probably places me in another category entirely. Not only do I use my deltoid more, I have more of a deltoid to use! ;-)
The shot is not effective until 7 days after vaccination, so there's always the chance that you may contract the flu before immunity sets in. That's not really a side effect, just bad luck!
@Flo
Acuball is a rubber ball, a bit larger than a tennis ball, with strategically placed 'nubbies' that massage the muscles along the spine. I also have an 'acuball mini' which I use specifically for my rhomboids and was also a godsend when I had plantar fasciitis. I absolutely swear by it and use mine often.
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