Did you ever had an “I told you!” moment with yourself? Waking up to having a splendid arm pain and some delicious fatigue is all that I could wish for this morning. Especially when I knew this would be happening. So much for wishful thinking! Long title, short story. Read on!
How It All Began
This past weekend had all the ingredients of being a wonderful one. And indeed it was. Finished all my tasks on Friday by the end of working hours, prepared dinner and spent a relaxing evening at home.
Saturday we had a birthday party to go to, at my boyfriend’s parents house. It was an outside barbecue, and they sayed it was going to be one of the hottest days of the month. We had lots of fun, had great conversation and called it a day in the early evening. Came home and rested.
On Sunday, we went shopping for the house renovation up ahead. Went through three stores full of tiles, wood floors and the usual stuff you’ll need. Came back home and called it a day.
Yesterday I planned to put everything from our living room away into boxes, seal them so that we can store them untill we finish renovating. Done deal! Published an article, sorted piles of folders and books and all sorts of things, checked social media, set up the table for dinner and cleaned up.
And then crashed!
I felt so tired that my arms and legs were “buzzing” inside. My body felt a bit wobbly and I could not concentrate properly. My brain was urging me to sit down already, which I did, after taking a quick shower. As I layed in bed, relaxation kicked in and did its job, and my brain could not been any happier!
Feeling a little better, I got up and stretched for a few minutes, did some relaxing yoga moves and took some deep breaths. That sure helped a great deal. My arms and legs felt more relaxed. I could feel the muscles stretch and the sensation was incredible. Imagine being tense and then muscles letting go. Fabulous!
Then we prepared for sleep. Dimmed the lights, made turmeric tea for both of us and regular tea for me, as I needed more relaxation. Meditated for 10-15 minutes, just to calm my mind, brushed teeth, had a shower and finally off to bed.
After an hour or so, a pile of boxes fell down making a very loud noise that woke us both up. Went to fix that and put the boxes back up. Off to bed again, this time for good.
Today Was One Joyfull Morning... Not!
All four days had heat code “yellow”, meaning the temperatures above 33 degrees C. Did I mention we disabled the air conditioner and the only thing keeping me cool was (and still is) a large fan? (We actually bought another one, slightly smaller, but together they do their job well.) Given the heat, the effort and the lack of proper rest, it’s no wonder my brain protested, throwing me a little surprise waking up party this morning!
Arm pain.. well, forearm pain actually and fatigue. Brilliant! What could you ask for more?
Once more I turned to meditation and yoga. Imagine trying to stand still, calm your breath and silence your mind with your arm hurting like you had a knife going through it! But believe it or not, it gradually subsided.
The yoga moves I chose were ones that did not put strain on my forearm. So, no arm balance, inversions or similar stuff for me today! Only strong, grounding poses, and ones that relaxed my arms and getting my blood flowing and muscles relaxing. Felt very good and further calmed my pain.
The Things I Do To Relax
I like mixing praying, silence and meditation into a 15 minute routine that gets me up and running each day. Then I do a 30 minute freestyle yoga routine, finding what feels good for my body that day, and maybe throwing in a few pose practices if I want to do something extra. After that is shower, breakfast and getting to work!
A Few Conclusions
As I’m finishing this article just now, my arm is still hurting, but the pain is under control. Will do a few stretches after lunch and further give some TLC to my body.
Long story short, if you ever feel like you have too much energy in blazing heat, and it’s too good to be true… it probably is!
So, when faced with summer heat, renovations and busy days, spend your energy gradually and try not to overwork it. Slower is better in this case.
Rest, drink plenty of water and stretch. And then relax and sleep well!
Sincerely,
Alexandra
P.S. Did you ever had a similar experience? How is your MS reacting when mixing high temperatures with a full to-do list? Share your answers on Facebook or Twitter. I would love to hear your story!
