A Yoga Journey...

or, what happens when an overweight, asthmatic, inflexible 57 year old woman takes up Yoga...

I have to say, I've wanted to do Yoga practically from the moment I laid eyes on someone performing a posture. I thought, "Oh, yeah!!! That is for me."

But I procrastinated as I raised 6 children, thinking, I have time. And then, this year, it hit me. I DON'T have time. The time is now.

I watched a few youtube Yoga videos and thought...I will never master this. But never isn't usually a word that intimidates me, so I began a journey to find a DVD that I could use that didn't kill me. *grin*

I ended up with 3 that I felt I could manage and on August 21st I began...

I had just read a post on Spirituality that talked about 40 days...how it takes 40 days to set up a spiritual practice, to set up a habit, to establish a pattern, so my first Yoga became a 40 day challenge. I also took one day a week off of my Yoga, so as not to overtax myself.

My first 40 day challenge was a smashing success, physically. I lost 10 pounds, making this year's weight loss a total of 35 pounds, and I lost 4.5 inches overall. And I learned a few things about myself...

I learned I CAN get up at 5AM to do something. If you knew me very well, you'd know how truly crazy that thought is.

I learned that I have REALLY lost a great deal of flexibility in my life and that this Yoga stuff is truly challenging. I have since adopted a few props (2 yoga blocks and a strap) to help me when the going is too far for me to reach. LOL

Mostly I learned that I feel really different when I do Yoga, even when I don't feel, necessarily, like I'm getting that more flexible. I feel different at the core, where body stability begins (I think) and this changes my confidence level, how I walk, and how I feel overall. And it's a good feeling.

I have had body image issues all of my life, even before I knew what that meant. It has probably affected me on so many levels that I'm not even aware of, because I don't talk about it. I can't talk about it (except to one friend, just the other day and it was breathtakingly painful).

I took on this Yoga challenge in my life to try to help change how I feel physically, and how I feel, mentally, about my physicality. I don't know, yet, if I will succeed at this, but I do know I'm committed to continuing this Yoga challenge in my life until I regain some of what I have lost.

I am in a new, 60 day, challenge now, and I hope to make this a part of my life for always...