To Hell and Back

The other day, I actually made time to do my prenatal yoga.  I was so excited to finally do my yoga again that I  did the whole video start to finish.  I loved it so much, I did it the next day too! For those two days, I was feeling freaking awesome. I was super limber, energetic, productive, THE WORKS.  But then, after those two days of bliss, reality brought me back down to the ground... HARD.

Here is a very professional looking graph that I created in about 60 seconds to explain to you in visual form what exactly happened. 

But Julene, I don't get it! Yoga is suppose to be really good for you! Surely there must have been another cause for Hell possessing your body overnight!


Nope, it was the yoga. And I'll tell you why.

When you are pregnant, neglect yoga for about three weeks, and then jump back into it without skipping a beat, your body will literally hate you for it. This is why: my belly had three weeks to grow. I am three weeks bigger than I was the last time I did yoga, and my body was NOT use to it at all.  BUT because of this lovely little pregnancy hormone that allows everything in your body to stretch beyond what is normal for a regular person, I was rockin' my yoga sessions! Little did I know that I was stretching TOO far, and it killed afterward.

Because of this, seriously everything hurt. Torn muscles from my feet to my hips, disjointed hip bones, sore back muscles, everything.  Good news though: I was able to master "the waddle" while walking around on campus... all while sporting the belly bump. 'Aint no one got my skill!

But, being the humble person that I am, I didn't want to show off too much. That and I was just in so much pain, that I almost considered getting one of these:

However, my budget being the embarrassment that it is, I gratefully accepted the rides too and from school that Chris offered.

** Pause for sympathy card to work its magic**

I did, however, find quite a bit of temporary relief:

Before I got pregnant, I have never taken a bath in our bathtub. In fact, my friend, Kristi, explains my pre-pregnancy bathtub feelings perfectly.   But, I now believe that pregnancy does weird things to a woman (omg, I just referred to myself as a woman).  On my first and worst day of post-yoga pain, the first thing I told Chris when I got home from school was "I HAVE TO TAKE A BATH."  I'm sure Chris interpreted that as "HELP ME NOW, OR ELSE." because he dropped what he was doing to get the bath set up for me. After taking ten minutes to undress, this is the scene I walk into in the bathroom: lights off, Enya music playing from the laptop on the counter, the smell of lavender essential oil mixing in the water, and towels and robes at my disposal, all set to go. Chris leaves to nap, and I spend the next hour with my eyes closed as I let the lavender oil sooth my muscles.  Oh em gee... did that feel goooooood.  

The next few nights were full of lavender essential oil massages.  Some of which I did myself. Also a bad idea, because I woke up the next day with throbbing forearms from giving myself massages. WTH?!?? A sista can't win!  Solution: I brought my lavender oil to school with me to rub into my arms during class. Fellow classmates: you are welcome for the calming aroma during class last week. 

** Pause for sympathy card to work its magic**

A few days painful days and frustrating nights of enduring this yoga revenge, I finally convinced myself to call a  chiropractor.  I found one online who practices in Provo and conveniently specializes in back pain for pregnant women and massage therapy. Um..... sign me up!  My only hesitation for making an appointment with them was I had no idea how many days I would have to sit in pain before they could squeeze me in. But GUESS WHAT: they had an opening for 2 hours later.  

To anyone in Provo, pregnant or not, I totally recommend this chiropractor.  I walked into the office, and they had relaxing music playing throughout the whole place. I went right in, told him what my poor, pathetic deal was, and he told me what was going on. He started out by relaxing the muscles on my back by using a machine to massage warm lotion into the muscles and joints, and then a series of much needed cracking and popping from neck to feet. He then showed me some exercises and stretches to do in between adjustments... and gave me a complimentary ice pack for any pain!

Guys: I literally walked out of there feeling 200%. The best I have felt my entire pregnancy.  Graph time.

My only regret: Not freaking doing this earlier like Chris said I should do.