Yoga--check (14 weeks)

For the past 10 years, I have done a yoga routine nearly every morning. www.gaiam.com/product/am+pm+yoga+for+beginners+dvd.do My muscles tend to be tight, and yoga has increased my flexibility remarkably.  Towards the final days before my surgery, I had to modify my routine so that I did not have to get up and down from the floor so much.  I did all positions on the floor before doing the ones that got me off the floor.  Obviously, I have not done yoga since my surgery before today.


You probably don't remember, but before my surgery I posted what my goals were for 2 months post op, 4 months post op, and 1 year post op.  Next week I  will be 14 weeks post op so I am quickly approaching my 4 months anniversary.  My 4 month goals were

1.  to get back in the pool and on the bicycle--check (didn't dream that they would have me on a bicycle before I even left the hospital!)
2.  to be able to get up and down off the floor

I have had a terrible fear of falling and not being able to get back up. ( sounds like a potential commercial!)  First of all, I have heard that falling on knee replacements hurts way more than falling on your natural knees.  Secondly, I felt pretty sure I would never be able to get back up since I have 2 affected knees.  So last week I asked my physical therapist to teach me how to get up if I were to fall.  She said that they always teach that to amputees because they will fall someday.  I then felt a little bad that I was so concerned since I at least had 2 limbs to work with.  We went through the motions, and I realized  that I could do it if I had to do so.  Since then I have been wanting to try to do my yoga routine, but I didn't want to do it the first time alone in the house.  I wanted someone there if I needed help, but our schedules never synced.  So this morning I worked up the courage to get myself down on the floor--probably the scariest part.  Was I going to have to stay there until someone came home?  Oh wait, I would have to pick up Rick and Brad today; no one would be coming home.  Silly me, I forgot to bring a phone down on the floor with me.  Slight panic.  When it was time to get up, it required a lot of forethought and getting up the nerve to put my weight on my knees in a kneeling position.  But I did it!!  And I was grossed out at how tight my joints and muscles had become since the day of my surgery.


Having done this yoga routine for 10 years, I could do it without thinking.  Just go on automatic pilot and let my mind wander.  It was disconcerting today that I could not remember the order of the routine.  That's one of the things that I have noticed since my surgery.  My brain is still in a fog.  I don't remember with certainty things that I think that I should remember.  I'm not always sure if something really happened, did I think it?, or was it a dream?.  I still have trouble with concentration. I can no longer blame it on taking narcotics, so it is a bit of a concern.  I know that I have improved brain-wise in the past few weeks, so I am hopeful that I will continue to progress in this area.