Writing hurts, and I'm not talking metaphorically. I'm talking back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain. And I'm not talking mild discomfort or background nagging pain -- that's par for the course -- I'm talking spams. Bad spasms that prevent you from straightening up, sitting down, standing, lying, anything. I'm talking interrupted sleep. Aggravation. And more.
Alright, I know I've got no real reason to complain. I know I can't even begin to fathom the sheer agony of a day hunched over picking crops in a hot, unyielding sun. Or being a town worker shoveling wet heavy snow away from fire hydrants in the freezing cold. Or being 8 1/2 months pregnant. Yup. I'm a wimp.
To try to tame the agony, I started yoga again. (Yeah, you were wondering about the link between yoga and horror writing, weren't you?) I take a class once a week from a fantastic instructor and a few Christmases ago I asked for the Yoga Zone 4-pack collection. It's a really good collection, once you get used to Alan Finger's voice. I find the "Conditioning and Stress Release" DVD really good for loosening up. In general, though, the sessions are too long. All of the DVDs run about 55 minutes and I find it hard to think about taking 55 minutes away from whatever I'm doing. Yeah, I know I could just start and stop when I have to, but I like following the sessions to the end.
So the following year, I asked for new DVDs, ones with shorter sessions. Most were from Yoga Zone. I love Rodney Yee's "AM/PM Yoga," though I find I just do the AM one most of the time, whether it's day or night. Very easy to do, even when you're having a Back Back Day. And when you're having a good day, it's still a nice, gentle stretch.
This year I asked for Rodney Yee's "Back Care Yoga for Beginners." I had read a few reviews that said it was too easy, and I thought to myself, "Perfect! I've been doing yoga for about 3 years now, so I'm at least a little flexible. This should be great for those days when I can't straighten up!" Well, not exactly. His rocking back and forth thing is too much for me even if I'm NOT having a bad back day. I can do the Bow Pose on a good day, but not a bad day. But I will admit the chair work is good. On a bad day, I can just barely do it. On a good day, I can do it easily and it allows me to "get deeper into the stretch" as they say.
It's funny, but when I was younger, I used to listen to my parents complain about the aches and pains caused by their physical jobs and think how fortunate I was to work in an office job. I probably am, regardless, but it's just not as pain-free as I would have imagined back then.
Namaste,
Morven
What I'm Reading Now...
- Vampyrrhic by Simon Clark
- A Voice in the Forest by Jimahl di Fiosa
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style by Laurie E. Rozakis
- Magic Spells and Incantations by Elizabeth Pepper
Copyright © 2005 Morven Westfield
