#33 - Do Yoga Every Day for 7 Days

This year had a pretty rough start.

I flew home to San Diego from Michigan on 12/30/14.  I had picked up a nasty cold and the air pressure during the flight was extremely painful, particularly during take off and landing, and I wasn't so lucky this trip to have a nonstop flight.  My ears hurt so badly that it gave me a headache.  Plus I was snotty and coughing and gross.  I was thankful that my Dad paid for me to upgrade my boarding position on Southwest, so I did have a good seat to pass out, but I kept waking myself up coughing.

On top of the sickness, I recently developed a slight flying anxiety that really flares during turbulence.  The flight to Michigan was probably the bumpiest I had ever been on, just constant shaking and large jumps for the first hour or two.  I was so anxious I couldn't do anything.  Then, for the flight back, I was remembering the flight there and having even more anxiety just worrying that every bump was signalling a series of turbulence, which was sometimes the case and sometimes not.  Then I overheard the flight attendant say that because of the extreme winds out of San Diego, our landing was going to be "fun."

Here's Kyle a few months ago playing by himself.

I was happy to land and my roommate kindly picked me up.  Once I got home, he mentioned how one of my cats (Kyle) hadn't left his favorite cardboard box all day.  Then I saw him get up, limp a few steps, and lie down again.  So I called the vet and B Street Vet, right around the corner, let me walk in.  The vet did some x-rays and told me he has arthritis in both hips.  I spent close to $400 on the x-rays and medication and was told we'd have to figure out a long-term solution with medication and I should buy him a heating pad.  They had also given him a sedative because he was so squirmy during the x-ray.  When I got him home, he was so drugged out and kept trying to walk but just looked drunk.

The next day was NYE.  Kyle spent the whole day looking miserable and exhausted.  He wouldn't move.  He wouldn't eat.  He wouldn't sleep.  I checked the medication and it also contains a sedative.  So I went out to dinner with some friends.  The next day I got up and he still wouldn't move and looked worse.  I took him back in and the vet's assistant looked panicked.  She had him see the vet right away and they soon told me he was in heart failure.  The poor thing spent the next 24 hours at the vet, spending the night in the emergency room, and I was out several hundred more dollars without any way of knowing what his chances really were.  He responded positively to everything they did for him, but he was recovering very, very slowly.

Finally the night of the 2nd, I took him home, and he popped out of his carrier, started purring, walked around, rubbed against my roommate, ate some food, drank some water, used the litter... like all within 15 minutes.  He was clearly not back to his normal self, but I was so relieved that a lot of his apathetic behavior at the vet was due to being at the vet for so long and being miserable.

Here's Kyle with his Get Well Soon flowers.
He really loves flowers.

So now I've taken him to a cardiologist and he has a genetic heart condition that requires me to give him pills twice a day, but he acts more like himself every day.  His prognosis isn't good, but besides the seconds it takes to give him the pills each day, he seems happy and painfree.

With all of the the tears and snot and sickness sweat in those few days, I couldn't believe I had any liquids left in my body.

So obviously, I went to a heated yoga class.

Last January, I took a trip to Sri Lanka for a course.  The focus on mindfulness was such a beautiful way to start my year that I decided that this year, I would put a mindfulness practice on my to do list every day, and that I would start my year with this list item specifically (do yoga every day for 7 days).  I decided to alternate between studio yoga and shorter sessions at home with a youtube channel called "DoYouYoga.com."  I'd been using the "30 Day Challenge" videos to guide my home practice for a couple months, so I decided to keep using those during this week because they tend to be 10-20 minutes of gentle yoga that would nicely complement the tougher days in the studio.

I knew lots of studios in San Diego, so I Googled yoga Groupons, and the universe was kind and there was a current deal for Mosaic.  (There is still a deal as of this moment here.)  I've been wanting to try Mosaic for awhile.  It's literally 2 blocks from my house, I've heard great things, and a few of the staff are graduates of or connected to the USD leadership program, where I am working on my PhD.  Even better, Jessica Williams and Kari Szakal also bought the Groupon, so we all got a $16 refund from the already low $45 we paid for 10 classes.

I started my week with a Tuesday night Yoga 2 class led by Kevin with, and at the recommendation of, my friend Kassi Grunder.  I struggled to start because my cold was still very present and a running, stuffy, sticky nose really makes it tough to have fluid, mindful breathing.  I decided to dedicate that week's practice to my breath and the meaning of having my breath feel out of control, stuck, or stopped.  The theme resonated with me because of poor Kyle at home, working so hard, with doctor's help, to get the fluid out of his lungs that had accumulated during his heart failure.  I adjusted my breath as needed and simultaneously fell in love with Kevin's class.

Kevin had a nearly perfect pace.  There were moments when I felt like I couldn't do any more and I would need to take a break, and as soon as I had made that decision, he would transition to something else.  That with 20 or so of us in the room, all at different levels.  There were students less experienced than me, concentrating on the words as well as the poses.  Then there were students light years ahead of me, seemingly easily moving to each pose, including graceful balances and inversions.   By the end of class, sweat was pouring from my pores, and I was thankful to have such a wonderful holding environment for cleansing myself and building my strength.

In the next 7 days I also attended 2 classes led by Sophie, a Yoga 1 and a Yoga 2.  I loved the Yoga 1 because I am always so inspired when I see people trying yoga for the first time, because I love when an instructor includes time to assist in bettering my poses, and because Sophie included a crystal singing bowl at the end.  I loved Yoga 2 because it fits my level a little better.

While I have now given myself a nearly 7 day break from yoga, I really loved developing my practice.  I hope that between Mosaic and the ARC I'll find myself doing yoga at least once a week.  I love the sweat that pours in heated yoga and I felt a lot more coordinated and strong during volleyball.

Namaste.