I’ve been practicing Anusara and Iyengar yoga for over a decade, but I still limp out of my weekly class feeling like roadkill. Yet, when I don’t go to class, I get stiff and uncomfortable. That’s why exercise is prescribed for my type of inflammatory arthritis — you’ve got to use it or lose it.  

Last night, I stubbornly crossed that line between just enough and too much. Today, I’m still feeling it. 

Perhaps it was the repeated Downward Dog – Plank – Chataranga combination. Judging from the pain in my hip, the likely culprit was the repeated Extended Triangle – Half Moon – Warrior 3 – Warrior 1 torture sequence.*  My hips just can’t handle that type of abuse challenge.

* Pardon my yoga-geekitude. My teacher has challenged us to learn the proper Sanskrit names for the poses (asanas), so here goes: Extended Triangle = Utthita Trikonasana; Half Moon = Ardha Chandrasana; Warrior 3 = Virabhadrasana III; Warrior 1 = Virabhadrasana I