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(Excerpt from my upcoming book, "Peaceful Weight Loss Through Yoga")
Do you need to lose weight? If you are reading this, you probably think you do. If you ask most people if they are the "right" weight, they will say no.
How do we know when we are the perfect weight? Is it measured on a chart or a scale? You may not like what you see in the mirror. Maybe you think you should be the same weight you were 20 years ago.
The fact is, there is only one reliable source to tell you how much you should weigh. You have an inner voice; an internal system that will determine your optimal weight -- and how to get there. We are all born with it. We all still have it, but it gets obscured by the stresses of life.
What is it that causes us to be heavier than we think we should be? Stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, physical ailments, self-criticism -- all these factors contribute. They all interfere with our body's natural internal systems.
How will you know when you are the ideal weight? Your body will tell you. But you need to be able to hear it!
Why yoga for weight loss?
With so many diets and exercise programs in this world, why choose to take up yoga?
Yoga is different from other options because it is NOT a weight loss plan. Which is its strength -- most weight loss options don't work for most people in the long run.
Yoga addresses our relationship with our body, our mind, and our spiritual selves. It cuts through the fads, diets, exercise plans, and pills, and gets to the core. The same concepts that have led yogis and yoginis towards peace for thousands of years will help you to achieve a weight that is comfortable for you.
Everyone can do yoga.
Developing a yoga practice is a pleasant addition to your life. You don't need natural ability, a lot of flexibility, or a lot of strength to develop a regular yoga practice. Unlike other exercise options, you need very little skill.
By doing the yoga practice at your own pace and skill level, you will gain all the benefits. Everyone's abilities and needs are different. At the heart of asana practice is movement and breath.As long as you can breathe, you can do yoga.
What can we learn from regular yoga practice?
Asana practice, (the physical practice of yoga), addresses the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of you. By performing asana regularly, our minds and bodies begin to help each other. In this physical practice we use our bodies to practice skills that we will use in day to day life.
An easy, comfortable, steady yoga practice will not only bring you to a perfect weight. You will feel lighter in general. Your physicality will become easier, your relationships will become smoother, your life will be better. You will be more relaxed, more aware of your actions, stonger-willed, more steady.
Yoga helps eliminate stress.
Breathing, relaxation, and asana practice in yoga all help us eliminate stress. There is a biological link between stress and weight -- the hormones produced by stress have been shown to increase appetite and fat deposits. Also, for many, stress leads to emotional eating.
Regular yoga practice can not only reduce immediate stress, but can reduce your overall stress level. Your emotions, how you react to them, and stress on your physical body are all intertwined. We can work on lowering our stress levels from any one of these angles.
Asana practice is a direct way to get at our other issues. As our body tenses, so does our mind. As our body relaxes, so does our mind. As our body releases tension, our emotional life becomes less intense.
Your body will work with you.
If your goal is to be healthy and happy, yoga is a perfect choice. Yoga encourages our entire body, all our systems -- including our minds -- to work together, in harmony, to their true potential. As your body becomes more in sync, your metabolism will function better. You will allow your internal systems to regulate your weight.
Many weight loss systems have us eating by their fixed plan, and exercising to burn more than we eat. Yoga helps us eat the right amount of food and burn it efficiently.
Why do people exercise, anyway? Most of us have been taught that by exercising more, we will burn off fat. While it is true that vigorous exercise burns calories, it is not true that it will make you healthy, happy, and the perfect weight. You are what you do. Going to the gym makes you good at going to the gym. A daily yoga practice makes you a healthy, peaceful human being.
Cultivating awareness.
By working with our body, we practice being aware. How much of the day do we spend unconsciously doing things? How much food did you eat last week that you didn't enjoy every morsel of? The practice of cultivating awareness of your body will translate to the rest of your life. As you become more aware of your physical self, your internal world will be easier to access. It will be easier to have awareness of your physical and emotional state.
Learning self-discipline.
Okay -- I admit it. It does take some effort. But again, asana practice is a great arena in which to try out self-discipline. As you learn to be friends with your body, you will find that it becomes harder to do things that are bad for it. Walking by the bakery becomes easier. As you practice keeping steady postures, you'll get used to owning your mind.
Long-term steady practice.
Yoga will improve not just your life in general, but the experience of each and every day. It's an easy addition to your life. Once you find your regular practice, it will be hard to quit.
Unlike short-term diet and exercise plans, yoga will bring long-term results through sensible gradual change. You will come to understand that you are perfect; and, given the chance, your physical self will find its ideal weight.
Regular yoga practice helps your physical, emotional, and spiritual life connect to each other. It can be your port in a storm of emotional turmoil, and a beacon to bring joy to your life. For thousands of years people have been using yoga practice to find the beautiful light within themselves. Not many exercise or diet plans do that.
©2003 Brandt Passalacqua
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