DDP Yoga, "Not your momas yoga"
Joey and I were laying in bed the other day talking about exercise and yoga and such. He had suggested I give DDP yoga a try. I was feeling pretty down on myself because of my physical limitations. "My stomach is too big for yoga." I said "When I lose 50 lbs I'll try again" I said.
I know that yoga helps my fibromyalgia. I used to do it a lot and I had actually gotten pretty good at it.
Now though, I'm way bigger than I was the last time I was trying this stuff and it all just seemed terribly hopeless.
So when Joey was at work the other day, right before he came home, I went out and fired up the DDP Yoga video that we have. If you aren't familiar with DDP, or you need to be inspired, here ya go,
you're welcome:
Anyhow, I decided to give it a try. There was more 'on the floor' stuff and pretzeley stuff than I could handle.
So it was a little less this:
and a little more this:
When he did the things I couldn't do, I just mentally went back, and then did the things I remembered from earlier that I could do. I wasn't wrong with the things I'd said before, my stomach definitely got in the way and in some poses made it impossible to breathe, so it certainly wasn't relaxing. Also, I do honestly feel like 50 lbs from now, I WILL be able to do far more and it will be far easier. I have to ask myself, how will I get there if I don't start somewhere? Sure, maybe my fat ass can barely do a downward dog, but that's okay, I do what I can and eventually I'll be able to do more. Eventually it'll be easier.
The one thing I did get out of it that I noticed an improvement with almost immediately, was any arms out/arms up pose. It hurt so bad because for the last year I've had shoulder issues associated with the way I sleep. I've made some sleepy time modifications, but still the pain persists, and arms going up, it hurt. I thought I wouldn't be able to do even that, the simplest move. I kept doing it though, fighting through the pain, and now? That shoulder pain I've had for the past year is entirely gone in my right shoulder, and mostly gone in my left. That's incentive to keep going if nothing else is!
Do any of you do yoga? Tell me about your experiences in the comments below!: or leave me a message on twitter @beyondwillpower #yogaismypainpill
Wow. That has to be one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteYou are so very right - anything IS possible if you believe in yourself. I love your "sometimes you have to fight a battle more than once to win it" philosophy too. That is something which resonates a lot with my own journey, which will always be part of me as keeping the weight off is as much an ongoing challenge as getting it off to start with. To paraphrase Robert Earl Keen 'the road goes on forever...' and my particular party will never end!
My dearest friend has fibromyalgia too (plus recently developed auto-immune hepatitis) and is going through a rough time right now. If there's anything you've come across that might help her I'd love to hear more.
Here's to a Happy and Healthy 2015!
Alicia, another thought-provoking post :) As you know I once tried yoga and failed miserably at it. Because of the meds i take, I can't even lie on the floor without becoming dizzy and nauseous. Leaving the studio that first and last kyoga class and feeling defeated, I noticed that the instructor, though he taught only yoga classes, had certifications in Sun Style Tai Chi. After talking to him about it, he agreed to give me private tai chi lessons which I loved. However long story short, once he closed his studio I eventually quit practicing :/ To get to where I was (even thought I was just a novice) would take practice and determination. In other words , effort. So I haven't. After reading your blog post, I've decided i'm going to, if nothing else, do it today. After all, today is all we really have and what matters most. -mommyh
ReplyDelete