Day 2 of Yoga

Well I must say, I felt ok when I woke up yesterday after doing yoga at 2 in the morning.  I knew I had worked muscle groups that didn't know they existed much less ME knowing they existed.  But they weren't sore yet... YET.

I woke after 3 hours of sleep yesterday and my body decided that it was pumped and ready to go for the day.  My insistence that I had to be up until 1am for work didn't dissuade it's decision.  So I got up, I cooked, I worked on my blogs, I made my FB page. And then I ran errands before I had to head out to day #9 of 10 days straight at work.  By the time I got there, I was feeling some sore muscles.

After about an hour of work, man, I was ready for some advil, a heating pad, and my bed.  I'm not sure if it's because the video I used wasn't truly for beginners or if I did EVERY move just a tad incorrectly.  I ended up having to go home early because of the excruciating pain I was in.

I must say, after a real night's sleep, it definately feels like the 2nd day out of a rigorous workout.  I'm sore and it hurts, but I'm stiff in all the right places too.  This experience, while I whine about it, is a good reminder to not push yourself too hard.  At the time, I didn't know how much I was exerting myself.  Surely it would be just like any other new workout, just a few sore muscles and I'd get back on that horse and try it again the next day.

Lessons learned:  Even though it's yoga and food is important in your diet when doing these exercises, protein is still terribly important for those muscles that are now covered in micro tears that need to be healed fast and properly.  I did not even think to mix a protein shake.  I drank some water yesterday but not nearly enough.  Water can help those aching muscles too.  And last but not least, proper rest.  I did not stay in Savasana as long as I should have because I was being trampled on by 4 different animals and I was ready for bed.  There's no point in doing a set of yoga if you're not going to take the time to enjoy it and follow each step to the best of your abilities.  Had I laid there a bit longer, I could have taken the time to breathe into the places that were the most sore and that might have helped the next day.

Patience and taking it slow are highly recommended.  I just got my new yoga dvds last night in the mail so I will be trying out one of the beginner routines after a few more hours of sleep but before work.  Hope to break up the stiffness in my muscles so that sitting in a chair all night long doesn't kill me again. :)