Keep Moving!

Moving too fast without proper warm-up got me in trouble yesterday; I had the mother of all back spasms that made my cry out in pain every minute or more regardless of whether I was moving or stationary.

First, I did 30 minutes of gentle Essentrics stretches and even that was too much for me.  So I resorted to drugs–took both a muscle relaxant and a generic for Xanax to try to relax those muscles while I then crawled to the floor for some used tennis ball therapy.  Another 30 minutes trying to relax the muscles around my mid-upper back and shoulders by draping muscles over and around each tennis ball, one on either side of my spine, rolling down one vertebra at a time.  Then, heat.  And some herbs known to help relax tight muscles, skullcap and black cohosh. Finally, a glass of wine while the hot rice pack gently helps ease the pain and tension in my back.

I repeated the tennis ball therapy this morning and was able to teach Essentrics–gently–today. 🙂  Though it can be painful sometimes, I am convinced…we must keep moving.