My Experience: Yoga with Adriene: Days 1-7
Introduction
A week ago, I decided to set myself a 30day challenge of committing to yoga. I’ve been suffering with aches and pains all over my body which I’m sure is a combination of my body adapting to a total knee replacement and increased time working over a plinth treating patients - as well as being the wrong side of 40!
For those patients who’ve seen me will know that I’m a big advocate of exercise and healthy movement. I believe everyone should be moving and exercising to improve physical and mental health. For the past few years I have been very on and off with my fitness and yoga. I thought I would try to finish 2020 with a commitment to daily healthy movement. My aim is to use YouTube so that I can fit in the practice around my family and work. I’m going to keep a weekly blog to let you know how I get on and hopefully inspire you to join in.
If you type “Yoga YouTube” into Google, you’ll see Yoga with Adriene dominates the rankings. She’s the most popular yoga instructor on the internet. She has rave reviews and there’s so many sessions and plans to choose from. There are 30day plans, sessions for back pain, total body stretch, anxiety and many more. If you look over my Instagram page @shauntylerosteo you can see I’ve followed her before. I like her easy teaching style and personality. She seems real and the sessions are for real people that isn’t InstaYoga where I’m expected to stand on my head in the first session!
I have chosen to follow “Yoga with Adriene Home - A 30 Day Journey.” Firstly, because it fits into my day. There are only five sessions that are over 30minutes. Surely, I can make time for less than 30minutes of exercise per day. We shall see. Secondly because it’s progressive. Each session has a goal and gradually introduces new moves and poses.
Days 1-7
I’ve got my first week of yoga under my belt. I actually feel quite accomplished with this achievement. I’ve really enjoyed the practices, and this has helped motivating me for the next one. While I’m a little bit frustrated that my left knee won’t bend, and I can’t kneel on it, I have managed to work around some of the movements and find alternatives. So far this has worked for me. I’ve learnt that I’ve got a lot of lower back and hip stiffness and my balance on my left leg is pants. There’s some neural tightness in my right hamstring which is a little nerve entrapment so I’ve added some flossing exercises to manage this. I’ve had to modify sitting cross legged by sitting on two folded towels. This seems to take the stress off my left knee and both hips and makes it alot more comfortable and less painful.
However, it’s not all bad. I feel much better mentally and physically for committing to daily yoga. I can breathe deeper and I’m calmer. I think I’m nicer to live with. I know that I can get flustered easily and my patience isn’t the best. This is probably the biggest change so far for me. It’s well documented that yoga is good for dealing with stress and anxiety. I’ve actually made it through this week without shouting at the kids.
Physically, I can feel my muscles starting to engage in my legs during the standing poses - even though I’m not nearly low enough. The scar tissue around my knee is really tight and painful and I’m hoping through this gentle practice it will start to relax and I’m get more range of motion. So far, I can’t turn the pedals on a bike. I use an electric mountain bike and pedal one legged. I’d love to be able to use a normal bike.
What I really like about this challenge is that somehow Adriene seems like she’s in the room and speaking directly to me. She constantly encourages me to “find what feels good” and this always seems to come at a time when I’m trying to push myself too hard or reach too far into a pose. I’m learning to explore what my body is feeling in each pose and just let it feel good. This approach is much more beneficial for me. I think this is due to the amount of pain, guarding and anxiety I have towards my knee replacement. I’m not getting any intense muscle soreness the next day and my knee pain hasn’t got worse. So far, just feeling good and relaxing is good enough for me.
My Tips
Find a time and space that allows you to get away from any distractions so it’s just about you.
Definitely find a level of yoga that truly reflects where you are physically.
Purchase a decent yoga mat - it really helps.
Don’t be afraid to modify any of the poses - it’s about you nobody else.