I think I dodged a bullet, or to be more literal, the knife. As anyone who has listened to me in the last five months knows, last August I seriously injured my rotator cuff while attempting to follow Ryanne across the monkey bars. After six weeks of being a baby, I went to the gym to shock my arm back into moving. Strange to say, it worked, and I got some range of motion back, but was still unable to put my right hand on my hip. Hands on hips is an essential pose for anyone who deals with small children, but even if I used my left hand to lift my right hand to my waist it hurt enough that I forgot what I was mad about. I was about to give up and go to the doctor (like everyone told me I should, but apparently my ear muscles weren't working either) when I spotted a beginners yoga DVD at the store. Slow deep breaths while holding still in different positions was difficult at first, but I saw daily improvement in my shoulder. (I still got a great benefit from machines at the gym.) I had been using it for about a month when Mom came up for a visit. She really needed the stretch and breath routine too, so I sent the video home with her. That left me to find another one. I went with Trainer Bob, who you might have seen on television, depending on whether or not you have cable. Bob's yoga shares one thing with the beginner DVD I had- the word yoga. I'm glad I thought beginner yoga had prepared me for it. He doesn't use the quasi religious terms like 'bring your hands to prayer' or 'sun salutation.' Now I bring my hands to my chest or hold them out like an airplane instead. He kept the warrior one and two terms, which don't bother me, but he couldn't find anything to replace the child's pose. If you know what a yoga's child's pose looks like, could you please tell me if you have ever seen a child do that. I used the machines at the gym yesterday, and did Trainer Bob's routine this morning. I am so surprised by the increase in my range of motion that I had to write about it. Not only can I hold my hands together behind my back, but I can reach the pose of 'You'd better behave right now, young lady.' |
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