Shoulder pain

This week I started experiencing pain in my right shoulder, in a small but specific area in the front of my shoulder, right in the center. I'm not even sure when I first felt that pain, Monday maybe?

I took Monday, Wednesday and Thursday off from practice, for other reasons more than for my shoulder, but yesterday I opted to do a Hot Core Power class at the Decatur studio instead of full primary with John, as I normally do on Fridays. Hot Core is easier on the upper body than primary series. I did tripod headstand during the class and my shoulder felt fine; however, at the end I did headstand the regular way and the action of pushing into my shoulders was painful. It didn't last terribly long, and was only a very mild ache by the end of the day.

This morning I went to John's and did full primary. It didn't hurt in a specific way during practice, just a general ache, though again headstand produced a specific pain in my shoulder. All afternoon I've had an ache in my right shoulder, stronger than it's been before. It seems to have migrated to the joint, and the entire shoulder hurts.

What seems to hurt the most are small back and forth or pulling motions, like when I was shredding chicken for tacos with two forks, or when I used our wine vacuum pump to put a cork in a bottle of wine. Also, extending my arm out and back to put my jacket on is uncomfortable.

It doesn't feel severe enough to see a doctor (and I'd be paying out of pocket to do so), yet it's uncomfortable and I'm worried that continuing to practice is going to make it worse. I am loathe to take a prolonged break, because I am worried about losing all I've gained in terms of upper body strength.

NSAID's haven't helped so far. I wish I knew if this was a case of things happening in my shoulder as a result of my practice, like when I was first binding in Supta Kurmasana and my collarbones hurt all the time, or it is a bonafide injury that needs attention.

Kids, god love 'em

1. I am going on a field trip with Michael's class tomorrow to see Greg Mortensen (http://www.threecupsoftea.com/) speak at Agnes Scott. There was an interview in the paper with him today, so while Michael had his snack this afternoon, he read the article. He asked me "What's a fatwah?" and I told him, then he said "Eww, he had to eat ibex jerky in Pakistan." I said "Isn't an ibex some kind of freakishly large rat?" and he's all "No, it's a mountain goat" and I'm all "No, I think it's a rat" and he's all "Google it and see" and darned if he was not right. It is a mountain goat.

2. I found out yesterday from Will's teacher that she has been giving him chewing gum - her own chewing gum - to help him focus in class, to try to channel his desire to wiggle and talk. She says it really helps him. God bless her. When I was in school, chewing gum was strictly verboten. When I came to pick will up today, I brought her two big packs of gum along with three boxes of granola bars for snack.

3. Tonight for dinner I am roasting a marinated pork loin (ahem, turkey tenderloin, otherwise the kids won't eat it), making roasted cauliflower which will be blanketed in parmesan cheese, and homemad macaroni and cheese. A beige meal, to be sure, but one I won't even get to enjoy until I am back from curriculum night. Since fourth grade seems to be the year when you hear nothing from your child's teacher about what they're doing in class, I am not going to miss this one. For at least a month now, when I ask Michael what kind of project they're working on in his G&T class, he says "space junk". He won't elaborate. So I guess I have to find out for myself.

4. I've gotten Michael his own email address. Last week I registered him for the Duke Talent Search program, and there was a spot for it on the application, so I thought, what the heck. All the relatives have been given his email address, so my MIL forwards photos of things like elaborate sidewalk chalk drawings, or ice sculptures, while my SIL and Michael trade video links of things like cats pooping on the toilet, or Weird Al songs.

5. I think I need a Facebook intervention.

My president is black.

I've been feeling so optimistic about our new president....I know he is not going to save the world in one week, or maybe not even in four years...but I think all the energy, all the inspiration, all the goodwill, is going to count for something. All is not going to be achieved with him...but damn, do I feel like we are going FORWARD for a change, instead of going backwards or stagnating.

GW said something like, I'm glad to be back in Texas and I'm here to stay". I suspect truer words could not be spoken...I doubt he'll give a damn what goes on beyond the borders of Texas. I can't picture him even being interested enough to follow the news.

In practice news....I went to the Bikram studio yesterday, and today my collarbones, and the area underneath, are kind of sore. Not muscular sore, but bone sore. Wonder if it was natarajasana (it's not called that in the Bikram series, I can't remember what they call it). Lots of pulling both from the front, with the extended arm, and from the back, with the leg. Anyway, when I practiced today, all the chattarungas in the surya namaskars were uncomfortable. But by the time I got going in the asanas, it felt better. I even got myself bound in supta kurmasana, and usually it is a killer on my collarbones.

I practiced on Monday night, which I normally don't get to do, but since it was a holiday Lee was at home with the boys. The evening classes are a different scene altogether, the studio is usually dimly lit with candles and the vibe is more intense. John led the class through primary until navasana, then into second series. We finished up with forearm handstands, and once I finally got up (normally I can only do this if I kick up against the wall first) I fell right over into a backbend. Loudly. It was really fun, even the falling over.

This weekend Manju Jois is at John's studio leading a workshop, tomorrow and Sunday. Unfortunately, Lee is is Chicago (where he says the forecast is for it to be four degrees tomorrow!) and he won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. I am sorry to be missing this workshop.

Domestic goodness

I don't make resolutions....I don't start all over at anything....but I do like to renew my routines after the new year. I never blow it all in December with regards to diet, or spending, or exercise, but I usually have a little tweaking to do come January.

One thing I've been really wanting to do is cook. I hit a slump in the fall of not wanting to plan meals, so every afternoon was spent trying to find something for dinner. I always succeeded, but every day I wondered how many more freaking times I was going to be able to pull a rabbit out of my hat. Eating out has not been much of an option; December was a hard month for us, financially. I had to be careful with my grocery shopping, so I had to get creative with meals and I was just tired of it. This month is already better; Lee has gotten a bunch of new cases in the past six weeks which should translate into easier times for us. Maybe knowing that is what re-energized me to cook. Anyway, the boys went back to school on Wednesday so I've started to get busy. Last night we grilled a flatiron steak, six burgers, two packages of chicken thighs, which I marinated, and three pieces of salmon. I'll eat salads with the steak or chicken, and tonight I made the boys a pan of fried brown rice with veggies & some diced chicken.

I also have a loaf of chocolate bread in the breadmaker for the boys, and tomorrow I'm going to make two muffin pans' worth of mini frittatas with sausage, veggies & cheese, since I'm in a breakfast rut as well. I can store those in a ziplock in the freezer and microwave them in the mornings for a quick protein breakfast - no cooking! Trader Joe's sells frozen versions of these, bigger than muffin pan sized but three bucks for two. I figured I could make them much more cheaply than that.

And, I'm getting back into my regular yoga practice as well. I had to ration my yoga classes last month too, so I never made it more than twice a week. I did other exercise, and actually practiced twice at home. But I'm stocked up on classes now. I practiced yesterday (6am vinyasa), today (intermediate primary with John), am going tomorrow (full primary with John), Sunday (hot vinyasa flow), Monday (6 am hot vinyasa flow) and Tuesday (hot vinyasa flow). I don't feel like I've lost much of my strength, though I am finding my joints a bit stiff and achy and my hamstrings are a little tighter than usual. And good gosh, did I feel heavy during chattarangas. Time to lighten up, to get back to the self that feels good from regular practice and healthy eating.