FIRST YOGA CLASS

Today - at nearly 7 months post-ankle surgery - I finally mustered up the guts to take my first yoga class. If you're a regular reader here, you know I've got a pretty consistent yoga practice at home, and have been working at it since as soon as I had the energy post-op (see here, here, here and here). However, I've been too scared to go to an actual class...with people...and teachers...and actual flows.

Going today was a combination of feeling ready, being really sick of my home practice, and feeling kind of stuck with where my body recovery is overall. I went to Seth Hutton's class at Yoga Pearl - he's fucking amazing and his class was PERFECT. I approached him before class and told him it was my first time back - he smiled and said he'd keep an eye on me for adjustments.

So, the class: first of all the room was heated but not boiling, so my ankle and leg muscles got nice and loose. Well, loose-ish...as loose as one could hope for. Second, his pacing was amazing - his focus for the day was slow and intentional rather than rigorous. Yes there were certain things I couldn't do - some because I lost strength and flexibility after surgery, and some stuff was just beyond where I was before the ankle break. (For example in downward dog, my left heel can touch the floor but my right is still about an inch off). I was perfectly challenged. I thanked Seth for the class afterward and he said he had his eyes on me but didn't think I needed to be adjusted - definitely a confidence boost.

After a green juice and some icing (my achilles has really been bugging me lately), I feel great. I will definitely be going back. Weeeee!!!

Take away: Ankle breakers, do everything you can to stay loose and strong. If you're bed-ridden, stretch in bed. If you're just beginning to walk, try my yoga videos or swim or get on a recumbent bike. The longer you stay inactive the more challenging it will be to get active again - I promise it's worth it. If you want more in-depth advice on how to do that, don't hesitate to reach out.