Lately, I'm feeling incredibly tired. Just mentally and physically exhausted. I know it's probably my thyroid and I'm due for another blood test, but until then, it just sucks to be sick all the time. Maybe it's a combination of my thyroid and Sick of Winter-itis, but either way, I would love to feel better. I never realized that being diagnosed with Asthma on top of having a faulty thyroid would combine and give me the worst possible stamina on the planet. I get winded after a flight of stairs, a walk with the dogs, a simple bike ride down the street. Last year, we bought a Bowflex with a leg press in order to help me keep my knee strong (which is ironic, considering the husband has connections to Hammer), but still I thought it would help. However, even though it's great muscle building exercise, it does nothing to help with cardio. So, I ask you, what kind of cardio can a person do that has both hypothyroidism and asthma? How do I increase my stamina and strengthen my heart without totally exhausting myself or aggravating my airways?
It's a tricky balance and I'm continuously trying to figure it out. The one exercise that I absolutely love to do is cycling. It's good for my knee, it's low impact and best of all, I actually enjoy doing it. However, it's such a warm-weather activity that it gets depressing not to be able to do it as much in the winter. We also don't have the room in our house for a stationary bike. So this weekend, we are planning to go buy one of these. It lets me bike, it helps me exercise, and best of all, I can tuck it away in a closet when not in use. Maybe I'll be able to talk J. into picking me up a yoga mat as well so I can get back into that too. I miss yoga and the way it made me feel. The hard part is practicing a nice quiet form of exercise with three cats and two dogs underfoot. If you've got a method to practice quiet meditation with a hyper beagle/coonhound puppy barking at everything that moves, well you are my new hero. :-)
Other than that, I'm seriously researching meditation. I can get so easily distracted and it can be an absolute nightmare for me to get focused sometimes (due to my thoughts racing like mad or some trigger from my past that stirs me up) and I need a way to pull myself together. I tried meditation when I was first discovering yoga, but it was always in conjunction with the "cool down phase" of exercise. Never once did I just try to sit down and visualize or meditate or clear my head. The reason? It never worked. My brain can just run circles around me sometimes and finding a single thing to focus on can be more stressful than relaxing to me when this happens. I've never found a successful method to doing this, but I'm open to suggestion.
All of this to tell you that yes, I know I've been lax in posting lately and yes, I'm still alive. Aren't you glad? ;-)