Compatibility

This is my fourth week on Weight Watchers, and my last three blog entries have all been pretty focused on “the weight loss” aspect of my journey. Even though I haven’t talked about much else for the past three weeks, my journey really is about more than just weight loss. My goals have more to do with “overall well being”, Mind, Body & Spirit. But it sure is easy to focus in on just one part of the whole, especially when I’m constantly looking up points values, tracking my daily food intake, perusing the weight watchers web site for recipe ideas and making shopping lists, etc. And yeah, I’m going to keep doing all of those things until I reach my “goal weight”, whatever that is. But I feel like talking about something else today. Something I LOVE.

That something is Yoga.

Sure, I’ve mentioned it before. But it is such an integral part of this whole journey that I’m going to mention it again, in a little more detail.

I’ve enjoyed a fairly consistent yoga practice for about 15 years or so. Sometimes I practice a few times a week, sometimes it’s only once a week if my life is really hectic. Lately though, I’ve decided that I need to find time…No! Make time, to practice daily (or almost daily). Wow! What a difference it makes. I’ve always known that there is a big difference between how I feel when I practice and how I feel when I don’t. But it wasn’t until I started practicing really consistently again that I have rediscovered the absolute joy that my daily yoga practice gives me.

First - a little about the practice itself: I include Pranayama (yoga breathing), Asana (poses or postures), and Meditation in my daily practice. I’m no expert by any stretch (pardon the pun) of the imagination. I started with video tapes (yes, it was pre-DVD), classes at the local community center, television (Lillias!), classes in actual yoga studios when it became “all the rage”, magazines and books.

The type of yoga I practice is your basic Iyengar style of Hatha Yoga. I’ve experimented from time to time with other yoga traditions – Vinyasa Flow, Power, Ashtanga, and Kundalini - and while they were new and exciting, and I can totally understand the allure of these styles, I always return to my own “home grown” practice. You would think I’d get bored with the same series of poses day after day, month after month, year after year. But I don’t. Every once in a while I throw in a new pose and toss out one that I may have “outgrown”. Or perhaps I’ll have a particular body part that needs extra attention; a kink in my neck, a stiff back, a tight hamstring, etc., and I’ll include a pose for that particular “issue”. But for the most part…same old, same old.

I’ve even gone on kicks where I’ve suddenly decided that I need “more of a work out”. I’ll join a gym, or start weight lifting at home, only to realize that yoga is my resistance work out. I just use my own body weight instead of dumb bells. What am I doing? I want to do yoga!

My practice has developed over the past decade or so to be exactly what I need it to be. I’ve done the same series of poses for so long that I feel like I’m floating in and out of each Asana without the slightest disturbance of Prana - mine, or that of the Universe. I imagine myself as a wraith in the fog, barely perceptible from the fog itself. It's the closest I ever feel to being "one" with anything. I breathe in; fill my body and soul with joy and vitality. Exhale; offer joy and vitality to anyone who would have it. I move into each Asana on the breath. It’s a quiet practice, it’s strong, and it’s gentle. It is everything I need from a yoga practice.

When I finish, I am filled with peace, a feeling of greater purpose, and gratitude. A LOT of gratitude. I stand taller, I feel stronger.

And….it’s compatible with weight loss (AHA! You KNEW I would mention that again!). But not just weight loss, it’s also compatible with mental clarity and overall well being. When I nurture my mind and body with such a healthy practice, I naturally don’t want to clutter up either with unhealthy foods, or unhealthy thoughts. It just seems to help in that regard. Yoga has been known to give the practitioner "body wisdom".

It does make me feel a little less like setting such a hard, fast number goal for weight loss, however. Instead, I’ll probably just know I’ve reached my goal weight when I can rest comfortably in Child’s Pose without my belly getting in the way!

Oh...and a quick note here: for all the years I've been "practicing", my forhead still doesn't touch my knees in Staff Pose, my heels still aren't flat on the ground (with my knees straight) in Downward Facing Dog, I still can't do Crane, or any variation of Firefly without falling on my ass, but I can do a pretty good Lord of the Dance pose! It's not about mastering and perfecting each pose. I'll leave that for the yoga over-achievers. For me, it's about a comfortable flow and just pushing a little...tiny bit.