Let's get this party started

1/12/2015

Today’s workout:

* Run/walk the Trails at the condo - aprox. 2.3 miles.  As of right now I can run about half of it.  

* At the far end there is a set of 60 stairs, I walked these twice today.  I wish I could run stairs but my vision and depth perception won’t allow that.  For now I will continue to walk the stairs and attempt to not hold on to the railing so as to improve my balance.

*25 Modified push ups Using the railing of the staircase instead of being on the ground).  I had to have surgery on my left clavicle about a year after my accident, the clavicle broke, part of the bone flipped down, the other part flipped up and stuck in the trapezes muscle.  They wouldn’t do any kind of surgery on me where they would have to put me under general anesthesia for at least a year of me coming home from Hawaii.  For that whole year I struggled with the pain in my left shoulder.  I was finally approved for surgery and they went in and peeled the muscle off the bone and shaved the bone down where the jagged edge was sticking up.  I struggle with the strength on the left side of my body but I am doing the best I can.  Unfortunately regular push ups are out of the question so I figured something else out.

• 25 Squats
• 3 sets of 10 Shoulder Rotations with the pole (also known as a shovel handle).  I learned this exercise from on of the trainers at my gym.  He used to work in a rehab facility and when I explained my accident and subsequent injuries he showed me this shoulder exercise with stimulates the fluid around the joints in order to make movement a little easier and a little less painful.
• Walk to/from the gym
• Yin Restorative Yoga, 60 minute class.“This yoga practice combines the elements of bot Yin and Restorative Yoga.  Yin is an intense form of yoga comprised of holding postures for longer to allow a stretch of the connective tissue, increasing range of motion over time.  Restorative Yoga is a form of active therapeutic relaxation that may use props and blankets to modify traditional yoga poses and melt away tension, for ALL levels”.

I have been following the Weight Watchers Simple Start program, I am about a week into it.  So far, so good.I lost some pounds last week, hopefully I will continue to do so.  

My yoga instructor said she went to a continuing education class yesterday and they discussed the trends for exercise in 2015.  Cross Fit is still big, along with fitness boot camps.  The #1 Fitness Trend for 2015 is meditation, apparently it will be found everywhere.  I feel like I am already on this trend train because meditation is included in my Yin class.  I am really bad at it.  Close your eyes, breathe deeply and.....my mind starts racing:  “I could use some new yoga pants, I mean I know I can wear non-yoga pants to yoga but it just feels wrong.  I like yoga pants, they are so comfortable.  I feel really guilty when I wear then and I don’t do any exercise.  Yoga pants are weird, kind of like leggings and jeggings.  I refuse to wear either without a long tunic-style top.  Cover your ass - seriously, just cover it, it’s not that complicated.  I wonder if the leggings I ordered on-line will arrive soon?” Ding.  Ding.  Ding.  The instructor rings her bell to let us know the meditation portion of class has ended.  Phew, really?  God, I suck at this.  Miraculously the instructor tells us not to worry if we are not confident in our meditation practices.  They call it a practice for a reason, you have to practice and you will be able to quiet the voices for longer periods of time as you continue with your practice.  I never thought I would be one for Yoga but I find myself intrigued by all of it, there is really something fascinating about Chinese Medicine.  I never really found a reason to get into it before my accident but my shoulder pain sent me to the Orthopedist who informed me that I would have to wait at least a year for surgery.  Great.  My shoulder hurts to the point of distraction and there are times when I wake up and I managed to turn onto my left side in my sleep.  Apparently I aimed for my usual comfy sleep position with one arm underneath the pillow while I sleep on my side, now I’m awake, my shoulder is screaming in pain and my arm is stuck.  Literally stuck, I use my right arm to crank my left arm down.  Ouch.  My doctor recommended Acupuncture as a possibility for relief.  Sure, stick needles in me, I don’t care what you have to do, just stop the pain.  Needles never really bothered me, Lord knows I love me some tattoos.  The pleasantly surprising part of Acupuncture was that it really did ease the pain I was having As well as it was nice and relaxing.  I would get acupuncture again in a heartbeat!  Maybe I’ll look into doing some reading about Yin and Restorative Yoga.

So, that’s where I’m at as of today.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings....