Yoga for Weight Loss - Your New Year Resolution?

It's been an eventful year, though you wouldn't really know it by my posts here! Sorry! Today I was inspired to post because of an article I saw Dr. Weil post on his blog. His research has shown that a regular yoga practice helps promote weight loss. While the physical activity certainly has a lot to do with it, it is the mindfulness that you cultivate with your yoga practice that makes the biggest difference. I have observed this first hand in my own practice. Over tha last year of practicing yoga daily, and becoming certified to teach, I have become much more mindful of what I put into my body, and often am just not hungry anymore. I don't think about food constantly, and have just about stopped going to fast food restaurants altogether. I find it helpful to drink a glass of water or tea if I think I might be hungry to make sure it's really hunger and not just thirst. Most times, it's that I'm thirsty. As a result, I've lost over 25 lbs in the last year! People ask me what I've been doing, and I say "Yoga". "No way, you can't lose that much just by doing yoga!" they say. Oh yes you can! Yoga is a wonderful thing that spills over into other parts of your life. It is truly about bringing wellness to Body, Mind and Spirit!

Cultivating Gratitude - A Source for Inspiration

This morning I got an email from Yoga Thailand, the place I went last summer for a week of yoga on the island of Ko Samui. They have recently opened an new retreat center so I was browsing around their website to check it out. While I was there last summer, we got a preview of the new place while it was being built and it's pretty swanky! The photos on the website are very impressive and make me want to go back.

While I was browsing around, I ran across this article from one of the founders of Yoga Thailand, Paul Dallaghan, entitled "Gratitute is Key", and it reminded me of a guided imagery exercise I did a few years ago that focused on gratitude and had a profound impact on my thinking. Here is just a taste of what he writes. I'd highly recommend reading the whole thing.

"Do we see the thorns or the flowers? Is the glass half empty or half full? How we look at everything in life is indicative of what is going on in our system, energetically speaking. Try to observe your response and actions to all situations in your life. How negative or not are they? You can cultivate positivity right at the start of your day. The beginning of any activity is crucial and thus this day even more so. Genuinely feel it, make time for it, sit and offer thanks. Already energetically the positive current starts to flow and affects the rest of your day."

"If we have really acknowledged all we have and feel genuine appreciation we are directly in a position to feel the plight of others. In other words compassion will more naturally flow from us. To put yourself in another's shoes, to do unto others as you would want done to yourself is a key principle of life and inherent in all yoga. From a real place of gratitude your heart is opening to feel others, offer love to others and to help others. What more is there to life?"

Want to feel blessed? Cultivate gratitude. Want to relieve depression? Cultivate gratitude. Feeling sorry for yourself? Cultivate gratitude. Next time you find yourself in one of life's challenging situations, think of all of the things you are thankful for. You'll notice a difference in how you handle the situation.

Thank you!

Need a little energy boost this morning? Try these Yoga poses.

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I really hate it when that happens! Rather than toss and turn all morning until my alarm clock went off, I decided to pick up the book I've been reading in hopes that it would make me sleepy. But it didn't. Of course now I'm feeling sluggish and not fully rested, but I want to get a yoga class in today. So I was trying to think of something that would give me some energy, but wouldn't wreck my blood sugar or jack me up on so much caffeine that I won't be able to sleep later. I happened to go to the Body & Soul Magazine website to look for something I saw in my latest issue, and found these 3 yoga poses that are supposed to "stretch and strengthen the spine, increase vitality, reduce tension, release impurities, and improve focus -- everything you need to face what lies ahead." And it's called "Morning Wake-Up". Sounded perfect!

As it turns out, these are 3 poses are a variation of poses that we commonly do to start yoga classes at the studio where I've been going. And I like them so much that I commonly do them to start my yoga practice at home. They are great to loosen the hips and as I found from reading this article awaken vital energy. According to Kundalini yoga tradition, "a built-in supply of energy lies dormant at the root of the spine, like a bulb that rests underground, waiting for a cue to bloom. " These poses help provide that "cue" and gets that energy flowing.

Give them a try next time you feel tired and sluggish. I feel better already!

The Yoga Connection

As I mentioned before, I was re-introduced to yoga by my good friends Mike & Beverly last summer. I've practiced yoga for several years, but like my other exercise routines, I had gotten out of practice. When Mike & Beverly told me they were going to Thailand to do yoga with their nephew, I asked if I could camp out on their floor. I initially had no intentions of doing yoga, but REALLY wanted to go to Thailand. But the more I investigated, the more I wanted to try to do a week of yoga. It has been a great gift!

Within weeks after I returned from Thailand, I found out that my Dad was ill. Fortunately, I had just taken a retirement package from Delta, and was able to go to take care of him. As you might imagine, my life changed greatly. I left my home near Atlanta and went to South Georgia where I grew up and where my father still lives. I've felt anxious, frustrated, sad, out of control, and worried among other emotions (thankfully not all at the same time) and yoga has not only helped me calm myself and focus, but has also been a great form of exercise.

As I retired, I really wanted to "do something different", and I found many of my friends saying the same thing. I decided while I was not working to pursue looking for something different and teaching yoga seemed to make sense for me. I was encouraged by others as well. When I stumbled upon Integrative Yoga Therapy, I was really interested. When I found that there would be a two week intensive training in Acapulco in February, I was ready to sign up. I called Beverly and she was ready to sign up too, so we did! We will be going to Bambuddha Retreat Center on the beach in Acapulco for 2 and a half weeks! I am so looking forward to it!

I hope to be certified to teach in March and I want to find someplace to teach ASAP. I've already started talking with the teachers at the yoga center where I attend now, and have gotten good information and encouragement from them all.

I'm not exactly sure how things will work out, but I hope to be able to teach yoga and maybe do some nutrition and wellness consulting part time while taking care of my Dad. We'll just see what the next few months bring....