Yog-ahhhhhhh

Early in my journey I lived for a sweaty, hardworking workout. If I didn't end my workout exhausted then I didn't think it was a good (enough) workout. And I had to workout at least five days a week or I didn't think I'd done enough during the week. Even when starting with my trainer in December 2015, I was working out almost every day; running or elliptical for at least 30 minutes plus weights every other day. And maybe one day of yoga each week.

Earlier this year I shifted from living in the gym five days a week to doing weights twice a week, HIIT on the elliptical a couple times a week, and yoga once a week with more regularity. And then somewhere in the last few months it's changed again. Dance has become my cardio and I don't push myself to the limits on the elliptical. I still do weights twice a week with my trainer, and yoga happens about 3-4 (or more) times each week.

And I've been telling a lot of people lately about the yoga that I'm doing and people keep asking me to share links with them, so I'm gonna share them with y'all so everybody can enjoy!

I stumbled across "Yoga with Adriene" a year and a half ago as "exercise" I could do on vacation in Denver when I wouldn't have access to the gym and it would be too cold to run outside. At first I tried a different video each day from her "30 Days of Yoga" series. I found it a little too challenging for me because I had lost a lot of flexibility, on top of my knee issues due to the osteoarthritis (I can't do lunge poses and a few others).

But I didn't give up! I kept searching until I found a video I liked and could do. At the start of this year I came across the "Foundations and Flexibility" video. Forty minutes seemed like a doable length and the poses were just challenging enough but didn't bother my knees.


I did that video for several months before I started to get bored and wanting to expand my repertoire. It was also around that time that I realized how much my flexibility improved. I also realized that I needed something extra to really work on flexibility in my hips and back because I was still tight there. (It felt very evident to me when dancing.) I found this 30 minute video targeted for back pain. I like it's slower pace, especially when my back is feeling tight and sore after a long day on my feet or a strenuous activity that has tired out my back.

 After a little over a month of doing both those videos on rotation, I decided to go back and try the "30 Days of Yoga" series. I stopped after day four because I loved that video so much. It's another good one for the back, but not as long as the previous one PLUS it has some good core work with the plank variations. A good core is key to back health.



I hope you enjoy these videos and take some time to explore others in Adriene's series. I am in the best shape of my life, yet I don't live in the gym. Stronger and healthier than I was before and getting better every day.

Diamond

As I sat in bed finishing up my bible study time this morning, a couple different powerful thoughts were running through my head. The loudest one was the chorus of this song:

The other thought was God's Word to me: Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. (James 4:8 paraphrased)

As I prepare to go in for my MRI this afternoon, as another step in my journey of this new chapter in life, I am reminded by this song and this Bible verse that God will use this to make something incredible of me, and that I need to stick with Him through this. He will see me through. He will be my strength. He's already near me, I just need to open up my heart and acknowledge His presence. I need to cling to Him, like a life raft in a stormy sea - He is my hope, my help, my refuge, my shelter. He is also my peace in this storm.

So, I'm thinking that over the next days and weeks I will use song and Bible study as primary ways of doing this and that I will focus many of my future blog posts on this - sharing songs and Scripture that are encouraging to me.

I See Me

I realized something today during yoga class. I'm beautiful. I'm beautiful and my body can move in amazing ways. Ok, so I can't do all the yoga poses with total ease and comfort and fluidity, but still, my body is beautiful and amazing. And I don't mean it in a conceited way. It's just a self-realization.

Yes, I know I'm beautiful when I get dressed up to go salsa dancing or have a night out with my girl friends, but I didn't realize how beautiful it is when dressed in workout gear, no make-up on, doing things that are challenging. But as I looked up from various poses to see if I was correctly mimicking the instructor, I saw my own reflection in the mirror of the darkened classroom. And I saw something beautiful.

I saw a long, lean shape. I saw thin places and curvy places. I saw muscle definition. I saw strength and areas that need support. I really saw me. And it's nice to finally see myself for all the things that I am. I'm amazing and wonderful. I'm special and unique.

In light of all my wonder over my freshly discovered beauty, I realized I deserve some things. I deserve to date a man who will honor and cherish this beauty, not just lust after it. I deserve to be with someone who will see all the beauty that I see and more.

From myself, I deserve continued acceptance and forgiveness. I deserve to honor and cherish my own body by exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep to nourish it inside and out. I am a beautiful creation of the Creator and I deserve special care and attention. I deserve to nourish my spirit through time with my Creator and His Word.

Wow. I really am beautiful and strong. It's not just something I say hoping to believe it. Today I believe because I have seen.

Good-bye, Pizza

Ugh...
No.
More.
Pizza.
*moan*

I just can't do it anymore. Well, maybe just not in the quantity I did it on Sunday. Sunday was a little ridiculous.

Remember that hike I took on Saturday? The one where I finally found the waterfall at Bells Canyon? (read about the hike here) Well, according to my fitness tracker, I had about 2000 calories that I had burned and could eat. So eat them I did. I went whole hog on Sunday afternoon and ordered a medium Hawaiian pizza - with extra veggies - AND garlic bread. And by the end of the day I had eaten the whole thing. Not in one sitting, but snacking, grazing throughout the day.

Oohhhh.... man was it good. I love garlic. And who doesn't love bread?! Or pizza!?

And then Monday came...and the pizza wasn't loving me and I wasn't loving it. I felt so bloated and horrible in other ways. I weighed myself in the morning, as I do just about daily now, and I had gained about 5 pounds just from eating that pizza and garlic bread. Five pounds!! Ew!

But I put on my shorts and tshirt and laced up my running shoes, and went for my morning run. My belly felt so jiggly and I felt so slow. I did my run, but it wasn't pretty. I wasn't pretty.

And then the gas...for some this may be TMI, but you're reading MY blog, so... All day long air kept squeaking out. (I apologize to my roommate and those at the theater around me last night.) By the time 10 pm rolled around I was ready to put my jammies on and be done with the day. It was rough. And I'd brought it all upon myself by eating the pizza and bread sticks.

I woke up today hoping that having been very good with my eating yesterday, getting in a run, and the release of the gas, that the scale would have moved back down. No such luck. I'm at the same weight today that I was yesterday.

My plan? Keep being good to myself. Exercise. Drink plenty of water. Eat well....well, except for the hot dog and chips I'll have at the baseball game tonight. :-) We can't be perfect. Back on track again, though, with a minor exception this evening. The weight'll come off. I've got a good track record - I already lost 105 pounds, so I can lose 5 more (again).

Oh, and no more pizzas after a hike. Pizza only when I know I can eat only two slices and maintain control. It's do-able and reasonable.