Monday, April 1, 2013

Feel the burn to the tunes

I have been having trouble sleeping lately.  I am up, late at night, struggling to turn my stupid brain off and not able to actually take that last step.  There are lots of places to get advice on how to deal with insomnia but I already do most of what they recommend so generally it isn't very helpful.  Normally I look at the 'get more exercise' recommendation and just sigh because I know that I am not going to do that.  I have tried it before and always got bored; it never stuck for more than a few months.

Today I decided to hop back on the wagon with a new (to me) twist; music.  I did an hour of yoga with much of it consisting of simply holding a single pose while listening to an entire song.  I stayed in tree or downward dog for a very long time while the Corrs pumped through the condo and just closed my eyes, turning off my bodily sensations and ignoring the discomfort.  It worked, I think, and I feel really good about it.

Hard to say if this will end up being any different than the other times I tried to incorporate regular exercise into my routine.  I always struggle with exercise not being hard, not requiring me to push myself, not scratching that competitive itch.  Leagues don't run at times I can make so I am stuck doing it solo and that is a recipe for giving up in my experience.  Strange that I took this long to try music; this isn't exactly a new idea for the world even if it is new to me.

4 comments:

  1. I've been trying Zumba - music + dancing, and it works up a sweat I tell you. And no one is watching. :)

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  2. I never seem to have an issue with people watching me dance. I do yoga at home in the nude though, which plenty of people would find offputting if they did decide to try to peek. :) Hopefully at least a few would enjoy the sight though...

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  3. I'd recommend trying melatonin. I've had some success with that, and doctors seem to think it's fairly innocuous if you use it right.

    - Brent

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  4. Have you tried Dance Dance Revolution? You can do it any time you like, and at least for me, it satisfied that competitive itch.

    -Aidan

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