I just got a bit of bad news. Another rejection from a job interview. It’s a sting and a disappointment. I have gotten a few rejections, but this was the first that I had made it to the first round of interviews. The upside is that a rejection like a failure means I have been trying to get a job. That would be a thought for another day. Something that brings me peace and a clear mind among other things is Yoga.
When I first left my job I made a promise to myself that I would do yoga. I had a long list of items that I wanted to make sure I started doing on a regular basis. One I would commit to doing was yoga on a regular basis. If you go back in my journal at those early days I mention doing yoga on a regular basis and a couple times of week I actually completed a you tube video. Since then I have been slowly increasing the amount of yoga I have been practicing.
After a few weeks of practice, something started to change in me. I would get up and tidy up my condo, and my mind would say lets do some yoga. I started increasing the number of days I was practicing yoga and I was doing a video three to four times a week, every morning sometime between 9 am and 11am I will do a yoga video. I have found as I have gone on this journey that my body continues to push me. Some of the videos make me sweat and are a good challenge. My body likes this challenge and in the last two weeks I have practice at least 5 times a week. This week, I have started noting my practice in my Apple Watch.
I am not a member of any Yoga Studio. Plus the world is still on lockdown, so my practice the last several weeks has been exclusively on You Tube. I follow 3 different teachers (yogis):
• Yoga with Adrienne
• Yoga Floating School
• Yogiapproved.com
They each have great beginning videos that break down each pose for those that are just starting out. I find the instructors enjoyable to watch and very personable, their personalities seem to come through during their instructions. Some other yoga instructions videos I found just go from pose to pose to pose with no personality or connection at all. The above three give some unique perspectives, tell stories, and make the video a bit more of a personal connection. I am not an expert by any means, I would have a long way to go for that, but they make the practice both a challenge and enjoyable. I subscribe to the above and rotate them to get a different workout every time I watch. I have become a fan of Vinyasa Flow. That is a good challenge for me.
Today I was thinking about what has happened in the last several weeks as my practice has increased. First and most notable are my muscles are fully engaged. They are moving into a burn mode. The low grade burn you feel when you are utilizing your muscles. I have to say, I positively adore that feeling. In additions, I feel stronger and more energetic throughout my day. On the days that I practice, I feel more grounded and focused. Even when I am tired it really does perk me up and wakes up my body and gets my blood flowing. I also feel more creative and engaged with the world around me. It’s a really nice feeling actually.
Physically, I feel like my body is getting toner. I am not a slim person by any stretch. In the last two months, I feel that I have definitely lost the flabby feeling. I don't feel as bloated. My ankles and my feet do not seem to be swollen as they had been. My upper arms which were getting very large are getting much toner. A lto of my shirts were not fitting well in the arms. Recently many dresses and shirts that I have been wearing fit better in the upper arms. My arms are not slim but they are gaining more definition. Also my midsection is getting toner. Some of my shorts and jeans are not as tight in the waist band and I had a pair of shorts sliding down my butt. Perhaps I should remember to wear a belt. Also, a new change, in the last week I have also had a strong desire to eat more veggies and less meat. We shall see where that feeling takes me. Body shape is clearly slowly changing. A lot of these poses are a physical challenge and can make you feel breathless, like you just ran for a few minutes.
The other thought that I have been having is the focus on breath during the practice. Yoga talks about breath, deep inhales and deep exhales. The focus on breath is a major focus in all the videos that I have watch inhale doing a pose and exhale through each transition The effort of some of the poses as I stated earlier really challenges breathing. Is it possible that this can help in weight loss? I had read an interesting article once that asked the question where does the energy go, most specifically how does fat actually exit the body. This is not the specific article that I had read, but it does answer that question.
How Fat leaves the Body.
Fat leaves the body via exhalation in the form of Carbon Dioxide. This idea would lend credence that yoga which very much focuses on breath and breathing helps in that fat exhalation process. I am not a scientist. I can only give you what changes I have experienced through the practice in the last several weeks, I will say this, some of the workouts that I have done get you breathing very heavily which means there is a lot of carbon leaving the body. These workouts feel good between my muscles working and the concentrating on breath. Moving and breathing help lose weight.
"Even if one traces the fates of all the atoms in the body, the secret to weight loss remains the same: In order to lose weight, one needs to either eat less carbon or exercise more to remove extra carbon from the body." From
The secret to weight loss remains the same, eat less move more. I have been focusing on moving more since I have been out of work. But yoga has captured my attention for sure. I will continue to share my thoughts as I progress and perhaps I will find a studio I can join, but while I am out of work, my practice will be remaining at home.
What are your thoughts on Yoga? Do you practice? Have you ever wanted to start? Please share your thoughts with us.
More thoughts to come…
Genner