My Mother's Day

Years a go, when I was in the worst state of my panic regarding my heart palpitations, I feared even taking a walk down the street. Since then, I've come far. I've tried P90X, dance aerobics, swimming, biking, and jogging. All of them have been good for me, but I haven't really loved it. Until recently, when my friend Laura got me to try Hot Yoga. I've done a gentle restorative yoga for years, but it has always been in a comfortable air-conditioned setting. I resisted and resisted her invitations to try Bikram yoga. I mean if I really want to work out in 90-100 degrees, all I need to do is step outdoors. Plus, I've always had this secret fear that the extra heat and humidity would put me in some risk for a cardiac event. But despite having lost all the weight I needed to lose postpartum, my tummy is looking a bit stretched out and sad. So I finally decided to try a Hot yoga class in hopes of helping firm and tuck those areas that need it. With trepidation, I tried my first Earth class. 90 degree heat, 60 minutes later, and half a cup sweat and tears, I made it through my first class. The result? It was positively reinvigorating. Since then I've gone back several times. When I thought about what I wanted my mother's day to look like, I told my husband that I was going to skip church and try another yoga class. Seriously it was the best present I could have gotten. An hour of me time doing the thing that makes me feel great. I love my girls, but ironically, on mother's day of all days, I love when I'm away from them. To make it even sweeter, I came home to an empty house, took a shower without hearing any cries or whines, checked my mailbox and discovered the newest "O" magazine. Hey, I've been lonely without my Oprah on network t.v. Here's to "O", Hot yoga, a glass of wine, and no kids! Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy readers.

p.s. My husband just got home and surprised me with a Dyson vacuum cleaner!! Should I be offended? Nah, it's a Dyson! Awesome!

Confessions

After reading that Ashley Wagner likes to jog to relieve stress and thus prevent heart palpitations, I was convicted that I had yet to jog this year. Screw the New Year's Resolutions (or "Dreams" as I called them)--I didn't even make it a day! In all honesty, my family and I have been sick a lot this year (the stomach bug made its ugly round) and we've had some unusually cold weather (lows in the teens and a sprinkle of snow) here in Texas. All of this has made me want to stay in bed with the covers over my head. [As a side note, I once googled "sleeping under the covers" to make sure it wasn't dangerous because this is a preferred way I like to sleep. I didn't see anything to alert me.] But enough of the excuses. The weather has been mild and after stuffing myself with yet another truffle and cupcake, I decided enough is enough. I'm done with the sweets (for just a bit), and I'm ready to jog again. So after a play date, I was pleased to come home to my husband awaiting us in his workout clothes. He asked if we wanted to go on a jog. Yes! I put on my heart rate monitor, stretched, and was out of the door. We jogged and walked for a good half hour. It felt great! Afterward we sat down to a yummy dinner of pasta with edamame and sugar snap peas. I'm ready to start a routine of jogging and healthy eating. Can someone help me stay accountable????? Please!!!!!!

Reflections

I've always thought New Years Day is a totally overrated holiday. Since I now have a small child who's an early riser, staying up until Midnight just to say "Happy New Years" does not sound like my idea of fun. But even before that, I was disillusioned with New Years. I'm sure as a young girl I came up with resolutions for the new year like 1) study more 2) hit my sister less 3) be nicer to my mom. And I'm sure I always failed...like within 24 hours. And I know I'm not alone. Studies show that two-thirds of New Year's resolutions are kaput by St. Patrick's Day. So after failing and failing at keeping my resolutions, the past few years I haven't even bothered to make them in the first place.

So today instead of setting myself up for inevitable failure, I thought I would take a few moments to reflect on 2010 and dream about 2011.

Reflections of 2010:

1) Making my health a priority. Exercising regularly this Spring and Summer including jogging, swimming, yoga, and weight lifting.

2) Blogging (semi) regularly

3) Learning to accept that I need more sleep than most people and trying not to ignore that fact. I napped during the day when my child napped.

4) Making a lot of authentic relationships with other moms at my church and in my neighborhood. I'm so grateful to have such an amazing group of friends in my life.

5) Treating myself to Girls Night watching "The Bachelor" and sipping Mexican martinis.

6) Rejoining the church choir. It's been nice to worship God in this way. I had some performance anxiety in the beginning, but I worked through my irrational fears.

7) Taking the Marriage Course at my church last Spring did wonders for helping my spouse and I to communicate more effectively. And the 4 course dinners and childcare were amazing!

8) Remodeling our kitchen was a pain but it will be well worth it. Thank you my dear sweet Jake for all your help and patience. And thank you to my parents for opening up their home to us for 3 weeks while it was being worked on.

Dreaming of 2011:

1) Make my health a priority. Exercising not just in the Spring and Summer, but also in the Fall and Winter.

2) Remember to take a multi-vitamin every day!

3) Find a therapist. (It's been a couple years now since my last therapist retired. I'm hoping I can find one that I can occasionally see if my panic/heart palpitations flare up.)

4) Read the bible (a lot more regularly).

5) Cook healthy meals for my family. I'm hoping my new kitchen will help. Maybe start a vegetable garden?

7) Do less

8) Love more (and that includes myself)

Postscript: I did make it up until Midnight last night. We had to cancel our plans with friends because my husband got sick, but I did ring in the new year with my sister and her boyfriend. And by "ring in" I mean I got out of the bathroom in my pajamas to give them both a pathetic hug. But I made it, and I'm ready for 2011.

Yoga is Not a Religion

Just thought I would address this issue and nip it in the bud since I talk a lot about meditation/yoga helping ease the symptoms of anxiety and heart palpitations.

A friend recently sent me a link to an ABC news article about a Southern Baptist leader who is calling for Christians to avoid yoga saying that "the meditative discipline is not a Christian pathway to God." And then I got on facebook today and my teenage sister-in-law had written this on her status update: "Some ppl think yoga will send you to hell but I think it brings you to a heavenly bod!"

Oh Lord, give me strength. Here's the article:

Southern Baptist Leader on Yoga: Not Christianity

Besides the utter ignorance of this Baptist leader, I believe this particular individual is spreading fear to many people who might benefit from yoga both physically and spiritually. We all know the benefits of yoga physically (flexibility, strength, posture, heart health), but it can also have great spiritual benefits. But let's be clear spirituality is different than religion. Spirituality has to do with one's inner life, the ever-evolving understanding of one's self and one's place in the cosmos—what Viktor Frankl called humankind's "search for meaning." Religion, on the other hand, can be seen as spirituality's external counterpart, the organizational structure we give to our individual and collective spiritual processes: the rituals, doctrines, prayers, chants, and ceremonies, and the congregations that come together to share them. Yoga was rejected by Hinduism because yoga would not insist that God exists. It didn't say there was no God but just wouldn't insist there was. Yoga is not a religion, but the science of religions. Yoga demands discrimination rather than faith. Where most religions teach us 'what to do', Yoga teaches us 'how to be'.

And what do some of the great yogis think?

Swami Sivananda Saraswati: "Yoga is not a religion, but an aid to the practice of the basic spiritual truths in all religions. Yoga is for all, and is universal."

Georg Feuerstein: [To practice yoga] "You need not believe in anything other than the possibility that you can transform yourself." "...some Yoga practitioners are more religious than others. But Yoga itself is simply a tool for exploring the depth of our human nature, of plumbing the mysteries of the body and the mind.

Shri Ram Sharanam Ashram: “Yoga is not a religion. it is not necessary for you to believe in a certain god or to chant certain hymns. it is spiritual and ancient science, which leads to health in the body, peace in the mind, happiness in the heart and liberation of the soul.”

Pandit Usharbudh Arya: “Yoga is not a religion or a church. It requires no belief in a doctrine, no credo. All yoga philosophy is concerned with the experience of meditation and nothing else. It does not require anyone to adhere to a belief system.”

Osho: “First, yoga is not a religion—remember that. Yoga is not Hindu, it is not Mohammedan. Yoga is a pure science just like mathematics, physics or chemistry. Physics is not Christian, physics is not Buddhist. If Christians have discovered the laws of physics, then too physics is not Christian. It is just accidental that Christians have come to discover the laws of physics. But physics remains just a science. Yoga is a science—it is just an accident that Hindus discovered it. It is not Hindu. It is a pure mathematics of the inner being. So a Mohammedan can be a yogi, a Christian can be a yogi, a Jaina, a Buddhist can be a yogi.”

When I practice yoga, I contemplate the mysteriousness of the Holy Spirit and my eye is towards Jesus in heaven. My meditations are no different than King David's prayers. Yoga renews my spirituality, but it certainly is not my religion.

Jogging with heart rate monitors

I've been doing P90X for the past couple months, but it has become increasingly difficult to get in the 1-1.5 hours daily to accomplish the DVD program with a little one. So the easiest way to get exercise with a toddler, is to put him/her in a jogging stroller and start jogging. I've been jogging early in the morning (before it gets too hot) three times a week for about half an hour. (Of course, I would encourage anyone with heart problems to consult their doctor first.) I also thought it was important that I bought a heart rate monitor watch to monitor my heart rate while I jog. While these watches are useful for a lot of reasons (distance, calorie count, staying in the zone, etc.), I think it has been most beneficial because it gives me reassurance that I'm not overdoing it and putting too much stress on my heart. Before I got the watch, I think I pushed it too far because after the jog, I would start to get a lot of very quick palpitations. This caused me some concern. But once I got the heart rate monitor watch, and simulated the same run I had been doing, I noticed that my heart rate was going way over 80-90% of my HR max. That's a pretty hard intensity and one that is recommended occasionally for fit people. And since I was just starting out, I knew I was pushing it too hard. Ideally, I should jog in a moderate intensity zone or about 70-80% of my HR max. Definitely not over 90% or 171 beats per minute. And now that I own the watch, I can easily do that. I simply notice when my heart goes over 162 bpm, and then I back off (usually I stop jogging and start walking or I take good deep breaths) to about 148 bpm. And once I reach that number, I'll start to jog again until I again reach my max and then I back off again. I keep this up for 30 minutes and then I do a cool down. The good news. This type of interval jogging is the best for losing weight. And I'm still trying to lose my post baby tummy. The results? I am no longer experiencing palpitations after jogging. Plus, I have recently discovered something I had never experienced before but heard so much about. Runner's high. The endorphins being released at the end of my jog makes me feel wonderful. I can already feel it working on my nervous system.

I'm pretty proud of myself thus far. When I first started experiencing palpitations over 10 years a go, I was so scared, I was even afraid to go on a walk. Anything that would raise my heart rate, scared me. I've come a long way. My advice is to go slowly at first and trust that what you're doing is very good for your heart. And not to sound morbid, but since I've started jogging, I've even thought to myself on occasion if I were to die while running (although I now know that's highly unlikely), at least I know I tried. I got out there and took control of my health and my heart.

I still have tummy to lose, but a girlfriend of mine, just commented that my legs look so good and toned. That was awfully nice of her to notice but I'm just glad that my heart is getting stronger every day.

Target heart rates
Polar heart rate monitor
My new jogging stroller

Heart Healthy

What do I do to prevent PVCs?

This is my current preventative regime. But basically it's striving for a healthy lifestyle.

Walking/Jogging (30 min.) at least 3 times a week
Eliminate all caffeine (no cokes, no coffee)
Yoga
Deep breathing
Reduce white sugars and carbs
Progressive muscle relaxation
Paraliminals: Self-Improvement Audio programs
P90X: a fitness regime consisting of weights, lunges, core work
6 small meals a day and always pairing a carb with a protein unit
Plenty of water
8-10 hours of sleep
Naps
Down time
Play time
Neck adjustments/massage by a chiropractor
Plenty of fruit and vegetables
Occasional mental health therapy sessions
Limit alcohol consumption (but occasional Mexican martini)
Medication: 15mg. of Lexapro