Yoga

Today I went to my first yoga class in 4 years.

Well that’s not 100% accurate. I did attend a Hot Yoga class about a year ago to try it but found out that it was definitely not for me. I spent the whole time lying on the mat just trying to get used to the heat. They recommend this for your first time in the class because it’s more important for you to get used to the heat than it is for you to do the exercises. Needless to say I was very happy to make the decision to not go back.

I used to go to Yoga twice a week before I moved to the big city and I absolutely loved it. I would end the class feeling very relaxed and energized for whatever the rest of the day would bring. My sleep was great. My blood sugar was great. My A1C’s were great. Life was great. Unfortunately when I got married and moved, life crept in. I started travelling frequently. Learning to live with someone was an adjustment. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Recently, my husband and I made the decision that we are going to start trying to conceive. This meant a lot of preparation on my part in order to get my diabetes in order. First and foremost was getting my AIC down to 7% and even below if possible. I finally achieved this in July of this year. Next step is getting my overweight body to lose as much weight as it can before I get pregnant. In a healthy and safe way of course. I met with my dietician a couple of weeks ago and developed a meal plan that was going to help me lose at least ½ a pound per week. So far it’s been extremely easy to stick to for everything but dinner. While I’ve been working on that, I thought I should also get back into yoga to introduce some exercise into my week as well as get rid of my stress and increase my relaxation.

My class today was Hatha Yoga. I got the following description from my yoga studio. “A gentle Yoga class great for beginners and those looking to work physically and cultivate your focus, breath and relaxation. Hatha Yoga is great for beginners and offers a great introduction to Yoga. This practice focuses on strengthening the body; enhancing flexibility and a calming mind. Hatha Yoga classes are great for improving your flexibility, endurance and muscle strength. This class is great for beginners and those still newer to Yoga.”

I have no idea why I stopped going. The last four years would probably have went a lot smoother if I would have kept up with it. Not to mention that I probably wouldn’t have gained the last 60 pounds if I would have continued going. Oh well. At least I’ve taken the first step and gone to a class. Now I just have to keep it up!

On a Diabetes specific note, I set my temp basal rate for 50% for 2 hours. It didn’t work. I ended up getting a low of 2.5 after about 50 min. I stepped out of the class, gobbled a couple packages of Welch’s Fruit Snacks and went back in just in time for the relaxation cool down. Of course that was way too many and I ended up going to 11.8 an hour later. For my next class I’m going to try dropping my basal a half hour for the class to 0 and see what happens.