Segueing Into the Weekend

My yoga class was something else today! It just about did me in.

In Monday's class there were just 5 of us, and there was tine to do some specific 1:1 work. I was having a little trouble assuming or holding some of the positions, and the instructor and I talked through some points. She asked if certain things were painful, and as we processed through it, I told her that I have scoliosis (spinal curvature), which made her perk up. She understood right away what some of the problem was. She made a few adjustments, the main one being to stand with some added padding under my left foot, my longer leg. This forces my right leg to stretch to keep me balanced. As soon as I was doing that, I could feel a difference! And it was visibly noticeable, as a man facing me across the room could see the change in my stance. My left hip has been sticking out for some time now, and when I added just about 1/4 inch on that side and stretched the right leg, I could feel the difference in my body and also when I ran my hands down both hips. They were nearly even!

Again today, a small class, just 3 of us. She was working with me today on ways to relieve sciatica and back pain from scoliosis. It was really helping, and I was far into it with excitement for being able to do this on my own to improve my posture and my body alignment, while reducing pain I've learned to tolerate. It was hard work, as I have come to expect, and I was sweating big time. But it felt very good. I could feel the muscles being stretched and pulled, and although one doesn't necessarily expect that to feel "good," it did. About 40 minutes into the session, I began to feel some very slight nausea. I went ahead working, but I had to stop within 5 minutes more. The instructor looked at me and asked if I was OK. She said I was very flushed. I said I felt some nausea, and needed to sit out a few minutes.

This happens to me when I get overheated. This is why I'm careful, taking many breaks, when I'm working outside. I didn't expect it in this situation, because we were inside (no sun to aggravate it), the overhead fan was on, and the temperatures were cool (more about that in a bit). But I sat it out till the end, as the nausea didn't completely subside. One of my fellow students slipped to the restroom and wet a strip of paper towel, bless her soul! That helped a lot.

I'll be going for another class on Monday. I'm not going to let it stop me! Although I'm not as good as I should be about doing yoga on my own, I can feel a difference in my posture, in my muscles as they are strengthening. It is very good for me, and I want to continue until I can do these things with greater ease. I really feel this is my key to the the door of better physical condition.

It is still raining. It has been fairly slow all day with few breaks in the downfall. I have about .30 inches, so it is clearly coming down slowly enough to allow it to soak in. It doesn't appear that my topsoil is running away, at least not much of it. The rain feels very good. What doesn't necessarily feel good is the temperature. The top I've seen today is 49°. For May 22, this is not typical. With the rain it feels very dank and bone-chilling. I've even turned on the heater, because the inside temp was 62°, and it finally just got to me. I am wearing sweats! Last week I was wishing for more pairs of shorts!

I hope the rain lets up enough tomorrow to allow me to get the new pots out of the bed of the truck without getting soaked. I want to get those new plants in the soil and let them begin growing. The sooner they grow, the sooner I eat! The weather forecast is for continuing thunderstorms through next Thursday(!!) but decreasing from 50% now, to 40% and finally to 10% on Wed and Thur. I'm assuming there will be some breaks in the rain along the way. The temps are better, too. Tomorrow is 64° and by Monday, it looks like we will have mid 70s. That is much more tolerable!

OK, I'm gone for now. For those of you still around, not already off on your weekend fun, have a truly marvelous weekend! Happy Memorial Day, and remember why we have this holiday. My thanks for all those who served in our military services to protect our freedom.