Yoga and LE

Yoga teachers who refuse to modify do not teach Yoga (notice the capital Y). Most people in Western society confuse asana (the physical poses) with the practice of Yoga itself. In my 200 hour training, we studied yoga philosophy, chanting, meditation, pranayama (breathing), as well as the physical postures. I guess the best way to summarize it is to say that while exercise is good for the body, a person is made up of more than just a body, and so all parts (the mind, the heart and the soul) need to be addressed as well. This all-encompassing practice that tries to bring it all into balance is Yoga.

I have always preferred to exercise solo. I liked being shown the equipment, proper seat settings, free weight exercises and good form, and then I would go about it at my own pace. I have increased weights, time on aerobic equipment very slowly, much more slowly than my friends do. And when I have taken a break (ok, fallen off the wagon), I started back very carefully and slowly. I was all about proper form. As a result, after working out at gyms for over 25 yrs, I never had an injury, but I was fit as a fiddle and strong! My husband tried to work out with me as a guest a couple of times and said I was brutal. Well, I had slowly worked up to that level of intensity, and I guess it showed eventually. So now, when I just go out for a walk with friends - those that are out of shape now and have had only a few periods of their life when they were fit - they really push me to go faster and longer than I would do on my own. Their 'come on, Tina,' really annoys me. And the days I have done a too fast and too long a distance with them, my feet will hurt or I will get blisters, or my back might get tight. So, it's no fun for me to exercise with most people. I have always been in touch with my body and known its limits and prefer to stay in my own "zone". Right now I have been suffering from a lack of motivation as far as more difficult exercise. I am not quite as sure of my body as I used to be. I have been really baby stepping it - back to my mantra of 'slow and steady wins the race' - and I am doing fine and having only a couple of flares (which I think were more weather related). I will observe thoughts I have while exercising, that I wish I were like I used to be (I am tearing up as I write this), but then I bring myself back to the present and remind myself that I will eventually get there. The goal is health, and that changes as one ages even if you haven't had surgery and LE. It's still frustrating as hell, though, for someone who really loved to be fit, to have these worries and have to learn how my new body responds to what it is asked to do, even in a gentle way. Oh, and with the PAL study workout I do, I increase the weight more slowly than the trainer would have me do. I have all these different parts of my body that are out of shape or not working optimally for different reasons. I see no need to work out my lower body like there's no tomorrow while the core and top are lagging behind. Besides, IMO, just like inflammation from sickness or injury in another part of the body can cause a flare, I think that's true for exercise. So, you could say that I am looking to exercise my whole body in a balanced way. I haven't been doing yoga, but I am listening to and respecting my body as I try to progress.

Kira, that is SO true:  for me, so much of this is fraught with emotional issues.  I don't want limitations.  It makes me feel marginalized before I even get to the exercise part.  My heart goes out to you.  I have weird male pattern baldness really only noticeable to me post chemo, and I'm obsessed with my hairline and every person on the street.  This is really pathological, and we need to try to break our cycles with replacement thinking.

I will say this:  doing weightlifting has really helped my body image.  I am classic--I don't think anything is ever "right", I'm always hyper critical.  But, weightlifting, while the changes are super-subtle, I dunno....I think it's a mental "I can do it" boost.

Just finished Classical Pilates Technique DVD--I did the Advanced.  It's super-short, only 18 minutes (for days like today when I'm recovering on weights) and I just sit out the two side bend things that might be a little sketchy.  The rest are completely LE friendly.  Deep breathing is a part of the workout!

I have also really changed (or am trying to...) the way I think.  Instead of getting mad about my friends who dumped me, I drop an email to the people who are always in touch.  Instead of being angry that I can't do downward dog (still gets me, though), I shore up all my DVDs in a carrying case that I CAN do.  I take them on the road with me.  Basically, it also keeps me from making excuses.

To that end, here's my LE friendly selection

Classical Pilates Technique

Rodney Yee's Yoga for Athletes (on the Power Yoga DVD)

Urban Rebounder collection

Element Ballet Conditioning

Thriving Yoga for Breast Cancer

 I'll also add--I have a few Pilates that I don't use.  The one I list above is so head and shoulders superior, the rest are just kinda silly.  I'm going to pass them along.

Was very suprised to see this connection.I have not tried Yoga but do use light armweights regularly at the gym and so far no LE development.I also gave up golf because of the onesided repetition.We all know we need to exercise but it is very hard to figure out how to avoid LE.