Well, it's been 10 days since my last post. In that time, my neck has recovered even more. Sometimes it is stiff in the morning, but improves as I move about. I read in book that the head stand pose shouldn't even be attempted if you can't hold the shoulder stand pose for 6-8 minutes. This is a really good thing to know. I'm not sure that with my recent neck injury and my current yoga level that I should even be doing the shoulder stand pose. If you do the shoulder stand pose wrong by putting weight on your neck instead of your shoulders, you can end up hurting yourself too.

I did go back to yoga class last Tuesday. It felt great! I did skip the shoulder stand. I need to figure out what I can do in place of it. I probably could just do a sitting pose and meditate on my intention. It was a bit more challenging to not compare myself as I was choosing not to do some of the poses that night. My wrists are pretty weak, so I can't do Wheel Pose. I just had to remind myself that I was glad that I was there. I would rather skip something than be in pain because I had show the people around me that I could keep up with them. Truth is they could probably care less, if I could keep up with them. Nor would they probably want me to hurt myself. It is nice to be able to take care of my body.

While we were winding down, I realized how much I had been pushing myself. How I had been choosing really unhealthy foods to eat and not getting enough sleep. Oh and spending too much money. Yoga that night was one of the best things to slow me down and show me that I needed to change my choices! I think I slept the best that I had in days that night too! I was able to make different choices even though I didn't feel like it and by Friday I was feeling much better! It's amazing what can happen when I listen to my body!

I did Tree Pose, Palm Tree, and Triangle Pose today for the first time. I can't lift my leg up to my thigh without it hurting or me falling over for tree pose. But Palm tree was nice and I didn't need to do any modifications! Triangle pose is a warrior/twist pose and I needed to use a block because I could twist all the way. Most material that you read will tell you that it's most important to do the full stretch. It's about the breathing and recognizing how far you go and keeping your body aligned properly.

That's all I know for today. Namaste.