#Just5Minutes of barre thanks to Tracey Mallett Fitness’ Booty Barre workout video. BootyBarre plus arms and abs kicked my butt today. Could also be from the lovely #POTS flare I’ve been dealing with lately, but I still got through it. Lots of stops and restarts. Lots of trying to breathe deeply despite feeling seriously out of breath and my heart racing even higher after I stop moving. Barre is also low-impact which makes it more frustrating when I have a hard time keeping up. I move my leg and my heart rate skyrockets. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I’m pretty sure this flare is exacerbated by overall deconditioning that’s progressed over the last year because of working on my computer more, and moving around a lot less during the day, despite still working out and staying active. My strength sessions have also struggled, as have my consistency with going to cycling – both are two things that make a huge difference in how my body reacts to exercise and fights against “The EDS Spiral.” I will also admit that I hate plain water and find it so hard to drink. I’m out of my Gouter tonics and my favorite alkaline water, which means I’m like the Sahara desert – also not the greatest combo for POTS/Dysautonomia. And I’ve been living on sugar – chocolate bars and anything else that is quick, easy and that doesn’t hurt my stomach right away. Sugar is so incredibly addictive; it’s worse than when I smoked cigarettes. And it’s even more shocking when you know exactly what it’s doing to your brain as it craves more sugar the longer you keep eating it regularly. My body is craving to be allowed back to its homeostasis. I never know what that will be, since it changes so much, but I do know the key factors to help get it there – sleep, consistent exercise, moving more during the day and not sitting so much at the computer, proper nutrition, and hydration. For me, it’s also paying attention to any medications I take, since many make things worse, causing a MCAS (Mast Cell Activation) flare.

But.. all of this is why “Just 5 Minutes” is so, so important.

Link to my original Instagram Post – https://instagram.com/p/BGv8C4WLoOJ/