Calming....

I'm a type A personality, and I'm an Aries. Both of those are typically very high-energy, and when you look at what types of illnesses each of these are prone to, both list headaches and neck problems. Well, I get very tense in my shoulders and neck, which has a tendency to result in a pinched nerve running up my neck. This combines with migraines to cause some very painful days every month for me. Now, in the past I have gotten these a couple of times a month; however, lately I've started getting these much more frequently. And they seem to be clustering. A couple of weeks ago, I got 7 in one week. I do have medication that I take for the migraines, but I don't like taking it so frequently. Plus, my insurance will only approve 4 pills every 15 days. I've decided to start stockpiling the pills to make sure I don't run out like I did during my string of 7 migraines. I can't quite pinpoint what brings them on- other than the stress definitely contributes. I've started keeping a journal of everything I eat, medication I take, how I feel, and what times I wake up and go to sleep. The only thing I have come up with is to try and somehow calm myself down- relieve a little stress.

This is why I'm trying Yoga. I've been recording episodes of Namaste Yoga on FitTV. Of course I only record the episodes that are for beginners at the moment- even the ones that say they are for beginner/intermediate are a little too challenging currently. Now, I haven't thought much of Yoga in the past. The little bit of experience I had with it wasn't all that great. When I did the Adventure Bootcamp last summer we usually did a couple of poses which were nice for stretching, but I didn't feel very relaxed after it. On Sunday night I decided to try out the Namaste Yoga and when I started out I was still not feeling very relaxed. I had the all the lights on in my living room to see what I was doing, but I finally decided to try something. I lit a few candles and turned off the lights. Suddenly, I was able to focus on the movement and relax. I felt like I was in a studio, not just my messy apartment. It's been a very nice was to end the last couple of days. I'm not sure if this is going to minimize the number of migraines that I get, but it at least seems to be lowering my stress level- at least for a half hour. Anyway, I would highly recommend trying a little Yoga if you need some stress relief.