30-days yoga and neck pain

On April 28th, I started a one-month yoga program for which I have to go to yoga class every day. Provided that I do this, I get an unlimited monthly pass for the following month. I have been going nearly every day since I returned to PA in mid-March, anyway, so it's a perfect money-saver for me and a great catalyst to keep me going. It takes quite a large chunk out of my non-existing free time, but it's well worth it.

On Monday evening, I engaged in a bit of an over-zealous headstand practice. Admittedly, I'm not too well-trained in headstands and handstands and undoubtedly approached this improperly. I must have had, considering that I had quite a restless night on Wednesday, and on Thursday morning, I was barely able to get myself up. I still doubt the prudence of my venture to drive to work Tuesday morning as I couldn't twist my head to check my blind spots. This wasn't the safest of things to do, but I had no choice as I can't afford to skip work. I twisted my torso, engaging in all sorts of bodily twists, to make sure no cars were to the side of me when I needed to switch lanes on the highway. Sitting at work, staring at the computer screen, all of Tuesday was quite a challenge, and I made full use of my peripheral vision if I needed to see what was going on around me. Good for the eyes!

I was quite upset because I didn't think I'd be able to do yoga that evening, provided that I actually made it to yoga with my driving condition. As I'm committed to this one-month deal, I figured I would go anyway but would unfortunately miss my favorite Thursday-evening level III class and instead go to the level I. There are no level III classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Fridays, so Thursday's a big one for me, and the teacher is excellent.

I made it through the work day and drove myself to yoga; finally! I blurted out to the teacher that I hurt my neck and couldn't move at all. "What did you do, wake up with a bad neck?" he asked. "No, I was doing headstands," I admitted, thinking he'd make fun of me. Ah, of course. It happens (quite often). Nothing to feel bad about. This was the response I inferred. Good. Maybe my first yoga-related semi-injury makes me a better yogi, ha. All jokes aside, whatever we did during that practice returned to me all mobility in my neck as if nothing had ever happened. I was pretty amazed. I had read earlier that morning that you should refrain from using your neck when you have neck strain, so I was a bit skeptical. Well, after the rabbit pose and the gentle turning of my head from side to side, this, that, and the other, I was cured. Strange, considering I did something similar throughout the course of the day. I tried gently moving my neck, massaging it, but to no avail. This did it, though, and I now have a newfound respect for the seemingly easy classes that really kick asana when you need it!