Yoga and the Emergency Room

So I still haven't taken a yoga class, although I did pick up the schedule for the studio by my house.  On Thursday night I was planning to go, but it was my friend's birthday and she would have been alone if I hadn't gone to drink wine with her.  So of course I drank wine : ).  Then I planned to go this weekend, but by the time I looked at the schedule on Saturday, I realized they had all already passed.  And well today...I went to brunch with Mr. GG and again there are no afternoon classes.

Oh well.

But this post is really about an article about yoga that I just read in the New York Times Magazine, How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body.  It talks about all of the serious risks associated with yoga and the lack of public knowledge about them. 

I am switching to yoga for therapeutic reasons so I definitely don't want to be picking up any new injuries.  My primary issue right now is my neck.  After a particularly brutal soccer game 3 or 4 months ago, I was in extreme pain and could barely move my neck or upper back.  I had another flare up after watching tv looking 90% to my right for about 30 minutes.  My neck hurt so bad the next day that I actually went to the doctor.  She prescribed muscle relaxers and Ibuprofen.  I had my last flare up last week after about 10 minutes of being in an awkward position during BD time.  Yes...a sex injury : )  It wasn't uncomfortable enough at the time for me to move so I didn't.  Then, the next day, my neck wouldn't move.  Awesome.

The NY Times article talked about many neck injuries created from yoga, some of which led to stroke or brain damage because they push the neck past it's normal range and reduce blood flow.  The article is long, so you should read the whole thing, but the basic message is that some of the inverted and twisting poses can be very dangerous.  And that the most common area of injury is the lower back (my other weak zone), followed by the shoulder, something else, and then the neck.

I'm pretty good at knowing my own limits and I would never attempt a head stand no matter how strong I get because of my neck and the fact that it hurts my face to be upside down, but this article was a good reminder to listen to your body and not to think of yoga as a competition to push yourself further and further.

I know many of you practice a lot of yoga. It is truly great for lowering blood pressure, elevating mood, and even improving sex life, not to mention flexibility.  Just know your limits!

Exercise

I have been active my entire life.  I have played soccer since I was 8 and therefore was active for at least 2 hours 5 days a week up through high school.  Since then, I would say I average working out 2 times a week.  I play in two soccer leagues and in the summer I usually run 1 additional day.  Even though my working out is not super frequent, I can play soccer at a pretty intense level for 60 minutes so I feel like I'm in pretty good shape.  My weight has also been extremely constant...really since college, so that's good.

When I started reading baby boards, the topic of exercise came up occasionally.  I remember wondering if you can play soccer while pregnant and after searching the internet found a variety of responses.  Some girls play through the first trimester, some stop immediately.  I remember thinking "I'm definitely going to keep playing!"  Oh, how infertility changes things!

I've recently contemplating quitting soccer, a sport I LOVE to play.

I'm so glad I didn't when first TTC because it would have sucked to have not played for no good reason for the past year and a half.  But I'm also starting to become slightly crazy and I can't help but think, "well...I haven't tried NOT playing soccer."  Maybe that's why nothing is sticking.  So when my season ended before Christmas, I made the tough decision not to sign up for the next one.  And I've pretty much agonized about it ever since.

I think part of it is that I really do feel like we are on the right track and that IUI will work (now if not soon) so I don't want to commit to another 3 months season.  But it's really hard.  I had a game last night (4 dpiui) and I wasn't going to play but I read a post on Dr. Licciardi's Infertility Blog yesterday that said in a nutshell: please exercise.  The number one reason is that it increases bloodflow.  So I played.  And it felt good.  And I hopefully I helped the little embryo's home get a little nicer...

I'm not sure why some corners of the baby world advocate sitting.  I think it's just a normal part of fear, but it's definitely misplaced.

I still want to make the shift from soccer to yoga.  One reason is that I really plan on being pregnant soon.  (Trust me, that's weird to say for someone who's been trying for 18 months.)  And I'm also dealing with some neck issues that soccer is not helping.

But I at least resolve one thing.  I will keep exercising.  And I hope you do too!