Paying the Consequences

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I haven't really been taking very good care of myself in awhile, and the cracks are starting to show. I'm paying the consequences for taking on too much, lacking balance  in my life and not taking enough time for rest.

Over the weekend, I couldn't sit down without falling asleep on the couch, in bed or even on the bus. But I'd convinced myself that I was feeling well  rested enough to go to Brownies on Monday, and since we were having a yoga instructor come in to teach some yoga to the kids, I thought it would be an easy night.

You know how you get ideas in your head of what your skills are and you stick to them in your brain, even when it's been awhile since you've actually done them? I have an idea of myself in my head where I'm pretty good at yoga -- I've practiced off and on for years, and generally think of myself as fairly capable and strong.

But let me tell you, I'm ashamed to say that this yoga practice for 7 and 8 year old kids  totally kicked my butt.

Let me put this into context for you so you realize exactly how pathetic this is. We spent the first bit of the practice just doing some forward bends, breathing and acting like lions (yeah, this is a yoga thing) and all the girls were giggling and doing somersaults at the novelty of being on mats and doing yoga. Then we did about 3 balancing poses and a few sun salutations for a total of about half an hour of yoga.

I used to take pretty advanced classes, and was even almost getting good at the plank at one point...and at this point, it's all gone. I was shaky, inflexible and needing a better stretch to do any of the poses. And it was a bit of a wake up call.

You don't stay good at things if you don't work hard at them. You can't expect progress if you haven't had the time to dedicate to improving.  You can't expect stellar results or to maintain previous gains if you can't make time to take care of yourself.

And how am I paying for this lesson? Even before I got home, I was getting a tickle in my throat.
I woke up the next morning with a sore throat, feeling like I'd been put through the wringer. Were the sore muscles body aches from fever or just from the yoga practice that kicked my butt? It was hard to tell. But regardless, I was laid up at home for a few days, as my body's need for rest won out over the desire to push myself further than I could go.

What have I learned? That I'm not invincible. That I'm not a goddess of yoga by default. That I probably need to sleep sometime, because I'm only human. That I probably need to practice yoga a little more often.

♥ Craftzilla