The mystery of runny nose and two days of sucky practices is solved - I am as sick as a dog! Woke up this morning with a killer headache, stuffed up nose and no voice. Yuck. Dug out a copy of "Light on yoga" to check out the sequences for "cold", "headache" and "stuffed nose". We'll see if Mr. Iyengar knew what he was talking about. I need to get well asap for my trip to San Francisco on Saturday!
Drunk a bucket of herbal tea, took a horse dose of vitamin C, oscillo and theraflu. I think I will go and sleep a little longer before attempting the miraculous sequences.
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OK, so the sequence for "cold" includes:
Sirsasana and cycle
Sirsasana and cycle
Sarvangasana and cycle
Uttanasana
Paschimottanasana
Kurmasana and Supta kurmasana
Yoga Nidrasana
Ujjayi pranayama with inhalation retention
I haven't done Iyengar in a while, and now it feels so strange for me to do any yoga without sun salutations. The body is stiff and achy, it feels somehow wrong to go into poses. I did first three, and it turned out that all these "up-side down" positions drain the sinuses quite nicely. The headstand did not help with the headache though, I would say quite the opposite. Then I tried Paschimottanasana, and boy, did it feel wrong! So I did several sun saluts A, and it seemed to help with the stiffness of the hamstrings. Paschimottanasana felt rather good afterwards, and the headache slightly subsided. Kurmasana was OK, SK - forget it! Yoga nidrasana - using a strap to rest a head, was OK. First it was strange, felt like there was not enough air to breathe, then it became better. Interestingly, by the time I was supposed to do Ujjayi pranayama, I could actually breathe through the nose! Very intriguing. I am sweaty and tired now, but feeling better, I think. Way to go, Mr. Iyengar!
19 comments:
Oooh poor you!! I hope you feel better. I've had the case where I've had to bail on practices only to find out later I was coming down with a fever or Really Bad Cold.
Inversions do help a lot. 5m shoulderstand. 5m headstand.
Thank you, Linda!
5 minute headstand?! Hmmm. I can only do it for 1 minute, then I start shaking. I can do 20 minute shoulderstand, though. Is it a fair substitute? :)
I've never tried to do one of those sequences.... good to know! Hope you're feeling better!
Oh hey you should try building the time on the headstand. Will help you w/ jump backs & other stuff. But ya, the longer you can stay inverted the better.
Hi, Anna!
Thank you! The sequence seems to be working so far :)
I will add headstand to my twice a week push-ups. But 1 minute is still a big progress for me. When I started Mysore 7 months ago, I could only hold it for 5 breaths. It is 60 now. Yay!
Oooh that is very good! Sorry to get all military on you when you've got cold :)
No, no, I am very grateful, Linda!
I need a quick kick into my substantial ass once in a while. And your kicks seem to be very effective.
Keep 'em coming! :)
I just always try to help! I will always share things I've found that've helped me.
I wish, wish, wish I could figure out how to keep my weight in my feet.I looked like a freaking RETARD doing my drop backs today but got some special encouragement (props) from my teacher after.
It appears as if I've decided to spend two months in complete & entire yogic immersion with Venkatesh next winter. And he will not tolerate my bad form. Nope.
Shiver, shiver.
He will not tolerate your bad form, you say. :D
Everything is so relative. Your bad form is somebody else's dream come true. Besides, if you were perfect, why would you need a teacher at all then?
oooh alfia, i hope you feel better soon!!
i find that a few drops of eucalyptus oil in hot water, and sitting over it with a towel over my head helps too.
hope you feel better!!
i might get razzed for this but i am big fan of the neti pot when i have a head cold.
Alfia...Neti pot is a good thing although I know there are a lot of anti-neti people out there :) I had a cold last week and it saved my life really cause the cold never got past my head into my chest where I always end up in big trouble.
Hope you feel better soon!!
Some people hate the neti pot? Damn... I love that thing! I'm a real neti pot supporter I guess... I use it every day along with nauli, it's like brushing my teeth now, just part of the daily routine.
Hi, Rayna! Do not have eucaliptus oil, unfortunately. I guess I will add it to my "cold supply" list.
I will hopefully see you on Friday! Do not think I am up to the full practice tomorrow.
:)
Hi, Tova, ABY and anon:
I like neti pot. But how does one use it if the nose is completely stuffed? I mean the water does not even go anywhere.
I think I will do my headstand #3 now, and then neti. This combination might work.
Thank you, guys!
the extra salt in the water will help move the snots through your passages. you might need to give it a few tries. i am also a big fan of varcho veda's neti pot wash, which has some herbs and things, and feels REALLY super nice!
Thanks, Tova! Actually, the headstand did the trick and I was able to use the neti pot. Also, I received by mail today Nasya oil. Very timely! :)
Alfia...
Neti and nasya!! You are on your way to recovery!
Anon - yeah I can't tell you how many people I know who just cringe at the mention of neti. I love mine and it has saved me so often from getting really sick. Daily is the way to go with it :)
i hope to see you on friday, too! and omg, the neti pot is great (i use it vicariously through aliya). (^_^) actually, my short stint with it was great; it's amazing how much gunk is stuffed up in there!
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