Back to normalcy. Almost.

I'm glad to say that I made it to yoga yesterday after three weeks. I miss the hot room, and I know the longer I am away from it, the worse my first class back will be. And I was right. I went to sleep with a pounding migraine, which did not go away after popping two Panadols. And I woke up the next morning with the migraine still pounding away. So I spent the morning lolling around.

Finally got up to get a mug of water, and considered another round of Panadols, but then I stopped myself. Decided to take a packet of Emergen-C and, hey, I could feel it literally going away, as if someone turned down the knob slowly to reduce the intensity. Then I had coffee and it finally stopped.

I kept forgetting how caffeine alleviates migraine.

Anyway.....it's good to be back on the mat. After the class yesterday night, I could have slept at 9pm if I'd wanted to, but instead I spent a few hours reading.

Water-Jet Floss: Handy little thing

As for the braces, I still can't bite with my front teeth, but nevertheless, it's great to eat normal people food again. 

I've also been on the hunt for a Water Pik for the past two months. A Water Pik is a water flosser, and it's supposedly gentler on the gums and great for cleaning orthodontic brackets. I've been reading about it a lot online, so I thought I'd give it a try. 

First I looked at Amazon and the main Water Pik site, and discovered that the prices of the products here are two to three times those in the US. And then, I kept coming across how the Water Pik breaks down just after a few months after use. And that the older models last really long (I actually saw someone comment on Amazon that his lasted 20 years. How about that?). So I considered buying one here in Singapore, just for the warranty. 

Well, in hindsight, I know now why I kept postponing buying any. During one night of endless googling again two weeks ago, I came across this one. It was $42ish, and it's delivered by mail. No electricity or battery needed, just plug it into the tap. 

Note that it takes a while to get the hang of it. Expect water to spray everywhere the first few times you use it. But after that, it's pretty nifty. Flossing around the molar bands is impossible for me, and this helps until my next appointment when I can ask my ortho about it. So yay. 

Feeling like a Halloween pumpkin

Okay, so I've disappeared off the face of the Earth for a while. It's so hard getting back to documenting life's happenings.

But here's the fast-forwarded story Click-style (you know, the Adam Sandler flick) from where I left off.

Deadlines Went a family trip to Guangzhou, Macau and Hong Kong. Shopping is really cheap in Guangzhou, but images of sweatshops came to my mind. Macau is so quaint. Well, whichever parts of the city that they bothered to preserve are pretty to look at. The rest of the city is so run down that, from the bird's eye view, it felt like I was looking down on slums. Had fantastic steak in Hong Kong. Didn't do much shopping on this trip, but would love to go back to Guangzhou and Hong Kong armed with a greater willingness to spend and bigger luggage. But again, images of sweatshops appear in my mind. Deadlines. Deadlines. Did loads of yoga. First Bikram double. Elated. Great way to end the year. New Year's Eve. Watched fireworks from the kitchen window. New Year's Eve tradition of thinking and talking about project to take on next year and things to take on to the next level. Jersey Boys. Love the music. A bit disappointed by the stage set. But of course, nothing beats The Lion King and The Wiz. Family dinner. Work. Husband went to his first Bikram class. Extraction of two teeth on the left. Separators between my lower molars. Can't eat. Liquids and soft foods. Such a hassle! Finally got to feeling almost normal. And today, second round of extractions of two teeth on my right side. Molar bands on. Achy teeth on the left side. Now with bloody gauze in my mouth. Anaesthesia wearing off. Waiting for Panadol to kick in. Achy. Praying hard there won't be any ulcers!!!!!! Missing yoga.

Yup, that's about right. Braces for me. At the age of 32 going on 33. No, wait, 33 going on 13. :)

I figured I'd offload any thoughts and observations here to spare the husband my blow-by-blow observations. I used to wonder why people set up blogs just to document their braces experience. But now I know why. To spare the closest one to you from figuratively having the braces on too. Oh, right, that's not why you blog about it. Okay.

Anyway, wish me luck. And feel free to share your experiences or advice. I like to be over-prepared and I'm looking for people to commiserate with.

Almost a year into Bikram Yoga...

Image from Bikram Yoga Vancouver 

And I'm still far from doing this! This, however, shall be my ultimate goal.

I have to admit that my practice hasn't been consistent. There's a story behind it, but I'll come to it later.

They say you'll always remember your first Bikram class, and, I sure did. It was hot, sweaty, tough, but exhilarating. And I actually found some of the poses easy. Hearing the Bikram dialogue for the first time was pretty entertaining. But what got me was after the class. 

I was totally wiped out and I had the mother of all migraines that lasted through the afternoon and night before I caved in and took some painkillers. A quick google later, I found out that I was most likely dehydrated. Like most people, I was chronically dehydrated, and it was a reminder that I needed and would not forget. So, now, I make sure that I load up on water the day before class, and drink more water throughout the day. 

It's been 8 months into Bikram now, and I've come to be quite familiar with it. I know at which point of the dialogue that it's time to come out of the pose (although sometimes the instructors slip in an additional few seconds). And I have my favourite spot in the torture chamber. 

So now here's the story behind the inconsistent practice. I started with going once a week in the first few months, and then decided to increase it to twice a week. I think it's not much, because some people do it every day. But then, once, while in the shower after class, I felt a strong sensation in my spine as if something shifted in there. I was quite alarmed by it. Added to that, I came across this book in the library, The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards by William J. Broad, who himself has been practicing yoga since 1970.

The book covered the history of yoga back in India (interesting, but pretty dry). And then it went into how yoga can heal, yet it can also cause injuries if care is not taken, particularly with areas like the neck and back. That to me was particularly important, as most of the time, the information we receive about yoga tends to gloss over the injuries and risks. It was also shocking to hear that some teacher training courses can be as short as two weeks! There are even online courses for it (what?!). That being said, Bikram has one of the longest and rigorous teacher training courses, running at nine weeks full-time. 

The author finished with how there needs to be stronger checks and some kind of accreditations for yoga practitioners to teach. It was a fascinating read. Whether you agree or don't with what's in the book, I think it's a thoughtful one for those who are learning and teaching yoga.

But reading the book made me more apprehensive about yoga. I guess I shouldn't be, but I did. At the studio I go to, it is really easy to push yourself too hard during class. Some of the instructors (obviously Type A personalities) tend to adopt a military style of communicating the dialogue so as to get the students to work hard. It can be good, but with everyone else at different levels in one class, you subconsciously feel that you have to keep up with the rest of the class. For the very beginners, that sets up the possibility of going way beyond what you should.

Given that strange, pain sensation I had, I took more than a month before I dared to go back to the studio. And I also realised something this year. I have a tendency to do something in spurts, and maybe overdo things (shin splints. familiar?) beyond what my body can take. Not many people's bodies can take going all out right from the start. Obviously, mine can't. I'm bummed about it, but I'll keep going. 

So these days, I try to take it more gently in class (if I remember) and focus more on form. Funnily, I find the male instructors are less of the 'go go go!' type. I enjoy those classes more, those by teachers who weave in their personal stories and bits of information on how to get the form right, while always putting in reminders on how to avoid injury. Because ultimately avoiding injury is the most crucial thing for a long-term and uninterrupted practice, yet it's what is often being left unsaid. 

So, yes, now I look forward to doing it till I get my Standing Head to Knee pose right....even if it'll have to take me five years.

This drawing below is really funny, by the way. So true! 

Image from The Iron You