I was as sick as a dog through Christmas and New Year’s: what a way to start the New Year. Tired, lethargic and irritable, my yoga practice suffered. I still fought through my practice, even when I couldn’t do kapalabhati or ujjayi. I yearned for the breathing, the prananaya part of yoga that I love and this made it difficult for me to complete my asana practice. The bottom line is that I should have taken a break. I needed to rest and relax but felt guilty about missing my practice. Because of this, my cold hung around a little longer.
When the body’s immune system is compromised, one should listen and respond accordingly. I missed my inversions so I was stubborn, bullish and pushed through my yoga practice. The benefit to this was
that I focused on my nonexistent meditation practice and spent more time in savasana. Being sick was actually a good time for me to meditate, go inward and feel what my body had been trying to tell me: that I needed to chill out.
Yoga’s benefits are that it helps to stimulate the immune system, detoxifies the body and boosts the mood. Like everyone, I was running around like crazy during the holiday season and it caught up with me. My immune system was compromised, my emotions were all over the place and I got sick. And then I kept doing yoga because it makes me feel good and I needed a little more of that this season. What this experience has taught me is that I have to trust my body, it knows best. Next time I’ll listen more intently.
A yogini for 11 years, Pamela was motivated to begin her teaching journey when she realized that yoga helped her sleep and reduced her stress and knee pain. She is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), certified in the Pranakriya™ tradition. She currently teaches at the Imagine Yoga and Wellness Center. Additionally, Pamela works with military and veteran spouses and families at Blue Star Families and other organizations.
Follow Pamela on Twitter with @pamsegg and @yoga2sleep, on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Yoga2Sleep) and visit her website at www.pamelastokeseggleston.com.
Yoga is best when practiced before breakfast in the morning or later on the evening.
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