Fitness Check In Day 92

A few days ago I posted about my birthday and the days that followed but didn’t touch on some other things going on. Last Monday I wanted to get on the mat and despite little sleep and overall body pain, I hit the mat to do DPPYoga Energy 2.0. It was heavily modified and since I hadn’t cleaned my Manuka mat, I opted to use a cute bright blue but very thin yoga mat my brother gave me that he got for free at a yoga class he went to. Boy was it rough oh my knees, hands, back…basically all over! Thankfully I have Gaim knee pads, a knee pad cushion mat and Gaiam yoga blocks all to give my body the cushion and support it needs while I continue on my slow journey to build muscle. I finished the workout and felt like I shook off the cobwebs on my joints and muscles.

I had every intention of doing a few more sessions during the week but my stomach had other plans and so did my bladder. Each day was worse stomach wise, Tuesday I seemed to be okay, I went to my yearly physical and voiced some concerns, but my stomach and bladder were not raising any flags yet. By Wednesday evening, I had gotten to the point that I was going 6 to 7 times a day, not to mention the fact that I was peeing every few minutes. Since my papa had urosepsis and seeing all the complications from this and then his passing away, I got worried and went to CityMD urgent care to test for a UTI. The rapid test came back showing nothing significant, so it was time to wait for the urine culture tests to come back. In the meantime, I was doing diaphragmatic breathing to calm the gloom doom thoughts in my head. Saturday morning, my bowels woke me up at 5am and I could not go back to sleep so I decided to stay up and start my day, super determined to clean the other side of my room so I could finally not only sleep in my own lusciously soft hybrid bed, but to finally work at my desk come Monday morning. After eating breakfast and doing some other things, I got a ping on my phone. The results of the urine culture came in. NO GROWTH! No UTI which means no need to antibiotics. I was relieved, but worried, and then I remembered the doctor at urgent care who told me that when you have diarrhea, your bladder can sometimes get super irritated. I looked it up and a few sources confirmed this. The lower digestive tract and the bladder sit very close to each other and share a close network of nerves. When your bowel is inflamed, spasming, or experiencing frequent diarrhea, those shared nerves can trigger overactivity, urgency, or discomfort in the bladder. So I changed my focus and mustered the little energy I had to clean everything on my desk and under it, plus all the books on one of my bookshelves, my closet and finally make my bed. It was small space but for me the squatting, and constant standing on top of the heat made me move a bit slower. It took me about 5 hours to complete just that small area and clean the floor. Mission accomplished!!!! I was sore and could barely walk, my lower back felt like someone was taking a knife to it, but I felt a sense of relief and had the best nights sleep I’ve had in over a month! The next day we were supposed to see the new Spiderman movie but I was soo gassed, I slept most of the day much to my disappointment but I guess my body needed the extra rest.

Today after sleeping yet again in my own soft bed, I woke up at 6:30am raring to go!! I perked up brushed my teeth, washed my face and rolled out the mat to attempt to do DDPYoga Energy 2.0. My wrists have been hurting even more, so for downdog, table and some of the other moves, I did those on my knuckles to save my wrists from any pain. It was hard, but it felt good. I modified some poses and eased up on the dynamic resistance on some to protect my right shoulder. Then I did a few stretches and 40 pullbacks with the level 1 yellow resistance band and 50 sit to standing exercises!!!! All of this felt amazing! Later today, I will try some exercises from a program I purchased call the Bromley Method to see if those can help with the hypertonic pelvic floor tightness that I can already feel happening. I also have the Therawand that has been a lifesaver thanks to my Urogynecologist who recommneded it.

I can honestly tell you that I am relishing in the happiness, energy and motivation I have today. Being away from my desk, room and bed for over a month gave me newfound appreciation for my little oasis that I was tired of being in day in and day out until now. It reminded me of a few things. To get up more often, to appreciate what I have but look at it from a different lens, and to ensure I experience a change of scenery by going outside for a walk a few times a week as the sun rises if possible. It’s made me more determined to keep striving for health so I can go the museums, battery park city, central park and walk to the Little Red Lighthouse that is near the George Washington Bridge. Everytime I go to Riverbank State Park and look towards the GWB, I spot this cute little lighthouse. I absolutely LOVE lighthouses and this is one I have been wanting to go see for quite some time. It’s on my list to go see it this month. It’s a little goal that I know I can accomplish.

That’s all for today my Phoenixes. Until next time, I leave you with this quote below about the storms of life: