My return to Ashtanga Yoga 20 lbs heavier, 3 years later.

In 2014 I decided to return to graduate school to pursue a Master's degree and a certificate. By the end of the first semester I had developed a new pain in my back. This was different than the chronic neck pain I've been living with since 1995 after the 2 car accidents. This was mostly on the left side of my back, approximately 5 trigger points formed along all 3 sets of erector spinae muscles (these are postural muscles we all have on both sides of the spine). 

The first change I made was to buy some furniture, up to that point I had never owned a couch and had a single folding chair in my apartment. The couch did help and so did my awesome bed, but this problem went beyond that.
I had to change my day to day activities which consisted of LONG periods of sitting down.
I decided to invest in the cheapest standing desk student loan money could buy and began using it. It was not instant cure, I still get tired after 2 hours and need to sit, but having the option to do both changed everything. 
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Research is very intense and demanding, by 2015 I taught my last Ashtanga workshop and as I got deeper into doing research and writing, my yoga practice slipped away from me. I reduced my yoga practice to what I refer to as "maintenance yoga", yoga to simply keep me going, not to excel and grow.

Another very painful thing my body experienced was heel spurs. I had an x-ray in 2013 when I saw a podiatrist and knew that this was an issue. I had one cortisone injection and the effects lasted 3 years! But by 2016 the heel pain returned, once again I received another injection, this one however only lasted about 6 months before the pain came back.
In the spring of 2017 I received 3 cortisone injections in the my heel and the pain still returned. By the summer of 2017 I just decided to deal with it because I reached the maximum (almost) number of injections one should receive. My return to Las Vegas was extremely rough and even though I should have I did not dive into my yoga practice like I wanted to.
Finally last month (April, 2018), after reconnecting with my Ashtanga teacher here in Las Vegas, I started going back to practicing Mysore style which has always been my favorite. 

I went to my first class and told the teacher that I wanted to stop at Marichyasana D, for those of you unfamiliar with the practice, that pose is about 3/4 of the way through the whole 65 pose series. I knew I was too out of shape to attempt the whole thing, but I was hopeful I could get to Marichyasana D. 
As soon as I started the practice I began noticing all of my new aches and pains that have accumulated since doing massage and teaching again. The most intense pain was in my feet and it was especially obvious in balance poses! The heel spurs were definitely there and hurting. 
By the 3rd class the pain had lessened, I quickly realized that keeping my hamstrings open helps my feet tremendously.
I must keep up my practice, more to come later! Thanks for reading!

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