Crane Pose!

Last week I switched out Rest/Stretch day with Yoga. Yoga is such a long DVD (1.5 hours) and by Thursday I am so tired, plus if Braden works he gets home late so switching it to Sunday is actually better. It gives me more time and I am more rested for the long and actually strenuous Yoga X. So I did it on Sunday. Yes, I actually did the crane pose. I only could balance for a few seconds at a time but I my feet were up and I was upside down on my hands. There are some other very difficult poses and moves that I still need a lot more work on but, overall, I am seeing improvements. One really bad thing is I get this pinched nerve on the right side of my lower back after a while of doing yoga. This Sunday it only started irritating me during the last few minutes. But other times it has irritated me much earlier. Once it starts to hurt I can't really do much else, it practically paralyzes me. I have no idea what it is. I have felt it before I ever started yoga but the yoga seems to bring it out. I'm hoping that over time as I gain my yoga strength that it will go away. It only bothered me during the last 3 minutes this past yoga workout so I'm hoping that is a good sign. Maybe it is because I am using muscles that I have never used or rarely used before so they are easily irritated. I don't know. Nerve or muscle I'm not sure. I will be monitoring it.

I slept so good last night. After waking up early for Cardio X, pumping it for shoulders, back and tris, work and everything else I was worn out. It probably took me all of 2 minutes to fall asleep. And I don't think I even moved my body until my alarm went off this morning. I'm not exactly looking forward to Plyometrics tonight. It is the hardest workout ever! After tonight I don't have to do it for two more weeks though! Next week is recovery week, which I think I will desperately need. I am definitely starting to get worn out and tired from this phase. Next phase kicks it up another notch so I really have to get rested during recovery week and prepare for another grind.

I am getting to like some different kinds of foods that I never really enjoyed before. I know to most people it may sound crazy but I never liked orange juice or oranges. I have been getting the navel oranges and they are pretty good and I buy the Simply Orange Juice with pineapple and it is very good. I also never really liked pancakes. I made whole wheat with blueberries and they were really good. I am eating more tomatoes than I ever would have normally but those have to be cooked. Otherwise I hate tomatoes. Most everything uses fresh herbs so that it a nice change like fresh parsley, cilantro and basil. I use my mini food processor and it chops them up perfectly. I am absolutely LOVING all the fresh berries right now. It is like peak season for them and they are sooooo delicious. I have had blackberries and raspberries out of season and they are pretty gross. Not to mention very expensive. Maybe I should stock up and freeze them for smoothies and other things while they are cheap and delicious. Something to think about...