After a sick break

So, I wasn't really sick, I had pink eye. If you don't know what pink eye is, you were never a toddler and/or you never were the parent of a toddler. The point is, I had to take an entire week off yoga and running to prevent the spread of said disease. There are many things about this that stink for me and the rest of the universe.  (I will say I still walked a bunch, I did mange to log 16 miles over the week, but I didn't really run and I didn't do yoga at all)

 First and foremost, I have a lot of energy. A LOT of energy. I am like that 90's commercial for the energizer bunny, I keep going and going....  I can talk and jump around forever causing all sorts of havoc if I can't exercise. If I don't get my workout in, there is a slight chance that I will start doing push-ups or sit-ups on the floor off my office or, sorry Ryan, I may do them on the floor of some other poor colleague's office. Second, I am able to get out any anger, sadness and general neediness with a good session of yoga or a good run. Less exercise, more time spent talking about "my feelings" with anyone and everyone who will listen (trust me I talk about these things plenty even with my exercise outlet).

So, I was very excited when my antibiotics ran out and I felt safe conquering a short run and a yoga class. I was psyched to redo the beautiful backbend and head stand I had performed just a week and a half earlier. I desperately wanted to up the amount of time I spent at 6.5 miles per hour on the treadmill.

 I forgot the main rule of being sick and not exercising, my body was not the same at it was a week earlier and I didn't to do the things I wanted to do with it.  Before I started exercising, I forgot that I had eaten loads of cookies, chips and jimmy johns sandwiches while I was sick because I felt sorry for my self and could be bothered to go out. I was a couple pounds heavier than my last attempt at exercise greatness. I forgot that the abdominal muscles have a very short memory and that extra crunches from the week before do not carry over.

I managed to get into a back bend, but it looked more like a deflated balloon than a beautiful wheel. My body didn't even want to go into the headstand. My breathing sounded a wheezing dog than the sound of the ocean (the sound of the ocean is the goal for yogic breathing). As I ran, my body only wanted to go 6 miles per hour and it only wanted to do that for 15 or so minutes before I had to transition to the power walking mode on the treadmill.

This was the kind of workout day that would have sent me further down the spiral of inactivity until I was spending my time sitting on the couch watching Hair Battle Spectacular. That is until I found yoga. Okay, the entire city of Seattle and most of the rest of the country found it first, but I still had to find the studio. Okay, the studio was about 15 blocks away from my house, so I didn't even need to find the studio. Finding yoga was about an unlikely source telling me it was a good idea and deciding that my hamstrings needed some love after so many months of running.

The yoga people have this whole thing about being where you are with your body as it is, everyday. In yoga, you can have an awesome class where you do a headstand one day and be just as awesome sitting in child's pose(the rest pose) half the class, the next. There are no fat days, gross days, I suck at everything days in class. You just are where you are and go with it. And for the next few days, at least, I am going to be slower and less bendy, and I am going to try my yogic brains out to be perfectly okay with that.