Friday, June 24, 2011

Yin Yoga = Awesome!

I took a Yin yoga class last night from a new teacher and had a wonderful experience.  Yin is a yoga practice that emphasizes slow and mindful movement, doing fewer postures and holding each posture for up to 5 minutes to really allow your muscles, joints and connective tissues to get the full advantage of the posture.  It is the intuitive to the intellectual.  It is the gentle to the forcefulness of pounding cardio.  It is the gentle movement to the frantic activity that fills so much of life.  It is taking the class breath by breath instead of worrying about what is to come next.

Although Yin has been around for a very long time, it has very recently experienced a huge burst of popularity.  The teacher last night said...of course it has, it has to, because Yin is a way of slowing down, and so many of us are seeking ways to slow down and manage the speed of life and input.  It was such a delicious class.  She said so many wonderful things, that early in the class, I actually crawled off my matt to get a paper and pencil out of my bag to write down a few things.  Here are 2 things I would like to share with you:

First, she said, in all the craziness of life, all of our seeking to get things, to accomplish things, to check things off of our "2 do" list...think about this - "With all thy getting, get thee understanding".  That pierced my brain and really sunk in for me.  To me it means that we should remember to seek underderstanding and include reflection in our llives so that all the effort has meaning and is grounded in purpose, not justy activity!

Second, she said - "Drink in the nectar of the now".  I love that thought!  If we can slow down and enjoy "the now" we can be more mindful of the choices we make to nurture ourselves with nutrition and exercise to ensure a more healthy life!  Framing "now" as something sweet and rich like "nectar" was a great image that really spoke to me!  I hope you like it too!

Desire to wallow in each moment.  Dedication to seeking all of the sweet nectar that life brings our way. Discipline to go forward with eyes wide open to drink in understanding.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Gift of a Little Perspective

OK, so it was more than just a little.....this week I had to go for a follow-up mammogram and ultra sound.  It turned out to be a completely innocent little cyst and absolutely nothing to worry about.  Of course, leading up to that glorious good news were many mental what ifs and significant moments of fear.

After it was all over, I decided to use this experience as a way to maintain perspective on health and weight.  Being overweight is a contributing factor to many health issues.  So, I am more determined than ever to continue my losing journey.  Getting to an even healthier weight will be like good insurance for future years. As we age (if we are lucky enough to get to age!) our metabolism slows with every passing year, so we will all be faced with having to eat less and move more just to maintain!

So, my Father's Day celebration was a mix of celebrating and trying to balance intake.  I did a 2+ hour workout in the morning, so I felt good about my calorie burn for the day.  I bought my Dad a few special pieces of See's candy and bought myself some sugar free peanut brittle at the same time.  I have to say the sugar free peanut brittle is delicious.  While it is not a low calorie food, it is much lower that it's full sugar sibling!

Desire to celebrate fully.  Dedication to gratitude for all my blessings.  Discipline to keep traveling my healthy journey.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Size Matters :-)

It is so easy to slip off of the portion control wagon! I have been examining every single thing I put into my mouth.  I know it sounds so booooooring!  But, remember, I am really motivated to shed more weight and have been stymied because I haven't been able to yet. 

So amidst all of the weighing and measuring, last Sunday evening, I found myself snacking on some delicious Fit Bites.  I did not count them out or measure by weight, I simply kept reaching into the bag for one more.  Then I realized I had completely over eaten and put the bag away.  It was a powerful realization and reminder about how easy it is to loose focus!  So as much as I enjoyed every morsel that went into my mouth (and I did), there will be no more errant snacking activity for me!  It is a reminder that 100 calories a day that is not burned, is, instead, stored as fat and can add up to one pound of weight gain a month!Yikes!  I do not want that!

Desire to travel further on my journey to better health.  Dedication to myself, because I am worth it.  Discipline to REALLY pay attention my intake and nutrition.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Saturday's Triple Header

This morning I did an hour of cardio on the cross trainer...worked up a really good sweat.  Then I worked out with Kathi for an hour....more sweat and things like a 1-leg stand up to a lateral raise - fun!  Then I finished the morning with 75 minutes of "serenity" yoga.  It was a perfect Saturday morning!

I had oatmeal and blueberries before the workout.  Then I had some Fit Bites in between weight training and yoga.  I was pretty hungry at that point and couldn't wait until lunch to eat something!

I love this particular Saturday morning yoga class.  The teacher is Trisha Kelly, one of the founders of The Soul of Yoga in Encinitas.  The class,called Serenity, is a combination of a good stretch and mind candy in the form of words of wisdom from Trisha.  She is a pretty amazing yogi and it is so wonderful to be in her class!  Today she was sharing quotes, one about how voicing feelings of inadequacy or "less than" is simply self-indulgence masked in self-pity.  This guru was advocating that if we have any of thsoe feelings that we need to turn them into self-admiration and pure love.  What a great lesson to internalize!

I have been battling feelings of frustration because I have not lost any weight in a really long time.  I find myself feeling that I am not finished with my weight loss efforts, which is really a masking of not being good enough yet.  So, Trisha's words this morning gave me pause to reflect and be grateful that I was in that class and had a chance to hear the lesson.

I also have been enjoying Pink's new song, F-ing Perfect.  I know it is a song about teenage angst, nonetheless, I do love the lyrics during the chorus - "Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel, like you're less than, less than perfect.....you are perfect to me...

To all my loved ones out there - please hear the words, let them sink in, marinate in them, BELIEVE THEM!  Wherever you are in your healthy journey, you are perfect, right now.


Desire to marinate in perfection.  Dedication to sharing positive ideas with all my awesome friends and family. Discipline to practice what I preach.