Last month I was having loads of pain in my upper back, neck, and head.  I had a Group-on coupon for a spinal exam and massage at a chiropractor in Tacoma that I decided it was time to use.  I really just wanted the massage but the office insisted I do the full spinal exam (minus the x-ray of course).  At the end of the exam, the chiropractor told me I was all sorts of messed up and I was in serious need of chiropractic care.  Do I doubt that my back isn’t in great shape?  No.  Do I think that I might benefit from some holistic chiropractic, probably.  But I was not about to dish out thousands of dollars to this quick talker to “fix me”.

I did some research, talked to my PT friend, and in the end decided that I would commit to doing 10-20 minutes of yoga in the mornings and see if I noticed a difference. For the last few weeks I’ve been religious about doing at least a few minutes of yoga in the mornings.  This past week, I did about 20 minutes of yoga in the morning every day except Saturday.  Saturday was the only day I had shoulder, neck, and head pain.  The rest of the week I felt great!

Not only have I been feeling worlds better, it was free and in my own living room!  I didn’t waste time or money traveling to and from and I felt empowered to be healing my own body!  I’ve created a short (13 minute) video that combines a couple of the short practices I’ve been doing from myyogaonline.com.  I’ve modified a little due to my baby bump (23 weeks tomorrow).  The routine includes all 6 ranges of spinal movement and is a fabulous way to start your morning or wind down after a stressful day (or both)!  I end each practice with 5 minutes of relaxation (I set my alarm clock but use a different ring tone than my regular alarm so I don’t feel irritated when it goes off).  Sorry the lighting is poor and my voice might be a little scratchy.  I recorded this at 5:30 this morning–fresh out of bed.