Ashtanga while sick?

After my whirlwind of activity on Tuesday, I woke up on Wednesday with a niggle in my throat.

Doing my morning practice was out of the question because I had slept in. By the time I was out of bed, showered, and breakfasted, I had to catch my train to work.

I got through my day decently well, but by the time I got home, my niggle turned into a full-out sore throat.

I woke up today and felt worse.

My head aches every time I turn my eyes, my voice breaks and cracks like a squeaky old car, and my hips, thighs, and calves HURT.

Despite all this, I got up early and attempted a practice. Now why in hell and high water would a sick person put herself through Ashtanga when it already hurts to move her eyes?

Because she read this:

So I got through 3 Sun Salutation As, crawled back in bed, and continued to feel generally horrible. Sure, a practice raised the blood, stretched my hamstrings, but it did not make me feel any better or worse. I am still sick, and Ashtanga ain't going to change that.

What did make me feel better? Cake.

I'm not even kidding you, it made me feel alive again.

So, to justify all the crazy in my life lately, I learned that yesterday was a Full Moon Day, and there is a bunch of other shit going on today as well. From Tim Miller;

The Sun and Venus together give us a desire to express ourselves through creativity and relationships. We want to be noticed and put ourselves out there in warm and friendly ways to attract the attention of others. Everyone gets a little more charming under this influence, but we may be susceptible to over indulgence and believing that we are the most fascinating beings on the planet, when others are thinking that we are incredibly vain and foolish. When Uranus joins the party, all hell breaks loose as we are given a jolt of liveliness intended to shake us out of our dreary, lifeless routines. Uranus is the planet of rebellion, striving to free us of whatever shackles we feel are binding us. Our samskaras (inherent tendencies) will be very much in evidence now and we will be faced with the choice of riding this big wave of electric and transformative energy, or trying to ignore it (not recommended). The close proximity of Mars (five degrees away) may make us headstrong and impulsive, striking out against resistance and authority figures in ways that invite conflict.

While today is technically not a Moon Day, it does seem like a shit-storm doesn't it?

A bad food day and Ashtanga

Yesterday was a bad food day for me.

I overloaded on a heavy Taiwanese bento (mm, deep fried king oyster mushrooms I heart you).

And then we went home, took a nap (I heart naps), and went back out for a coffee.

And yes, coffees now always come with a piece of heavy chocolate cake and whipped cream (I heart chocolate frosting).

Later, Steven and I watched the Australian Open men's final and I ate a bag of chips (Doritos, I heart you).

By now you're wondering what I don't heart (or you want to punch me).

I don't like this hurricane-y weather we've been having (though the view is really nice).

This is basically my view every day for my morning Ashtanga. That's Central station in Sydney.

Speaking of which, it was painful and stiff today, like I had been running a 10K or something (which I haven't, really!).

My knees both popped, my left wrist lost feeling for a moment, my hips felt like they were pummeled. I even stopped before drop backs to check if today was a moon day and I should stop this madness immediately (it isn't...sigh).

I think diet affects us more than we realize, especially when each morning demands that your body bend (forward and back), twist (Marichiasana D, I do NOT heart you), and hold (friggin Navasana impossible lift ups).

Something as simple as Doritos, chocolate cake, and oversleeping can really mess you up.

Well, tomorrow's a big day for me. My first day of work, a trial yoga class at a new studio, and everything in between! I'm going to eat right today and get my energy up for tomorrow.

What foods make you feel like a 92-year-old hobo that just woke up from a night on a park bench?