I want to be bendy (again)

Last June I told myself it was time to really push my workout.  No matter what weight or size I've ever been, my thighs and booty have always lacked real muscle definition.  So I decided that doing twice as much twice as often would be the key.  I piled on the lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, step-ups on the ottoman, miles on the treadmill. 

Not even 2.5 weeks later, I couldn't walk up our stairs.

In fact, I couldn't fully bend nor fully straighten my left leg.  It was perpetually angled as if I was some show-pony prancing about.  To walk upstairs looked as if I were performing the marriage walk, only I had the banister to propel me up each step.

After 4 weeks of this, I finally went to my family doctor who then informed me that I had to make several appointments for the next 8 weeks with him before I could get an X-ray or see a physical therapist.  He said it was because of my insurance--an HMO (which we all know stands for Hesitant Medical Options).

After unnecessary appointments with a doctor who prescribes penicillin or naproxyn for everything (and also told me that I should be pregnant before seeking an ob/gyn should I ever want to have a child), I finally received authorization for an X-ray which came out clear and an MRI which showed inflammation behind the kneecap.  Two weeks after that, I was authorized for physical therapy.  Yay! But  I was only authorized for 6 sessions to be completed by mid-December, so they gave me a list of at-home exercises to work the muscles they believed were weakened and caused a tracking issue which created the inflammation and the knee pain.


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It's January now.  It's been over 6 months since I have run on my treadmill and just as long since I have done yoga.  And I can feel its taxing grip on me.

I miss how yoga encouraged me to breathe easily, sleep soundfully (apparently I just made up that word), stop the mind clutter and simply examine.   But I still can't bend my knee enough to relax myself in child's pose.  I was once stable enough to perform standing balancing poses (my favorites) and these have been forsaken by my efforts to develop thighs with which I could juice oranges.

I think this summer's goal will not be showing off my chiseled flanks, but how gorgeous my knees look when sitting cross-legged or bent in child's pose.  You all will be jealous.