Embrace Your Destiny: Keep Moving - Everyday is Different

One of the fundamental truths we learn in Hot 26 yoga is that our body feels different every single day. It also responds differently. This is Sean, one of our many great teachers at Hot Yoga Asheville, with me after one of my 7:30 AM yoga classes. Sean always reminds us at the end of class that "the most important thing in your life, is your life." I think about that some mornings at 5 AM when the alarm goes off and I feel a bit out of sorts. Luckily, my husband Don also gets up and usually goes with me to yoga. That helps! We all need help sometimes to encourage us to get moving.  


We like getting our exercise done in the morning. I've been going to Hot 26 every morning for a long time. When I have to miss, I really feel cheated. You ask why? Actually, I think it is addictive, in a good way. After getting my mat in place, I like to do a few gentle stretches in the hot room before class starts. Heat is an amazing tool to soften the muscles. I always start with pigeon pose. I use to avoid pigeon because it hurt really bad. Now, it feels great. I can literally feel my hip joint relaxing. 

I usually check out my knee joint and ankle flexibility before class too. This area became problematic recently. I did something to hurt my knee while doing normal clean-up activity. One minute I'm doing the same motion I do everyday, then, wam,  something shifts and my knee started hurting. The knee took a couple weeks to feel all good again. Still, everyday I have a discussion with my knees before and during class about just how much they will give me that day. There is one particular pose, "fixed firm" that I have never come close to full expression. Before the injury, I was making significant progress. Now, I have regressed to a position I was in a year ago. All my yogi friends agree and teachers say "you can only work with what the body gives you to work with today." The great news is that the knee is all better for all activity I can do, like walking. 

I always feel 100% better after Hot 26 no matter what condition I started class. My mood is totally adjusted. My body is moving better, and I feel better about myself. When I can say that  I am feeling really good, that means: I've had no headaches; I have great energy; I'm comfortable sitting, walking and standing; my digestive system is happy. I believe that there is no better gift than feeling good. That being said, MS will simply have to be managed. My experience affirms that movement is the best anecdote and supplemental treatment. If not Hot 26, perhaps another form of yoga would be good.

I have always enjoyed walking. I reluctantly gave up running because I kept falling. Walking is safe and has become very important to me as a "go to" activity for stress relief and pure enjoyment. Donnie and I adopted a two mile section of our Ray Hill Road to keep clean. We have a good reason now to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. I'll be doing a posting on this activity soon, so stay tuned.

Feeling good everyday is a goal for me. MS makes dealing with the everyday physical aches, pains necessary. The good news is, they can be managed and without medicine. I like morning for getting my workout in because that's when I'm freshest and I have more control of my time. Setting the alarm is easy. Sean's quote is a philosophy to live by: "The most important thing in your life, is your life!"