Happy Charm School Monday! Every year, around this time, I do my very best to get in shape AND stay in shape. I have had victories and I have had failures. No matter what…I have not given up on my fitness goals. Perhaps…that’s the key…not giving up on ourselves. With that being said, I have had an interesting turn of events. Since March 10, 2019, the day I started my new fitness journey, I have a new found appreciation for yoga. If you recall…this is like my tenth time trying to practice yoga. ??♀️ I typically quit like two weeks in but NOT this time! Here are 5 tips to help you start and stay on your yoga journey: 5. SELECT A YOGA PROGRAM THAT FITS YOUR SCHEDULE AND NEEDS! In the past, I have done yoga DVDS and in person yoga classes. Neither really fit my schedule nor my needs. The DVDs were repetitive and really for more advanced yoga students. On the other hand, the in person classes were overwhelming as they were flooded with advanced yoga students or so it seemed. It’s tough for one yoga instructor to assist twenty to thirty students. Thus, my lack of flexibility, strength, stamina, and patience made it so easy for me to stop attending yoga classes. Each time I would just give up. BUT not this time! I registered for Beach Body On Demand and began my yoga journey. They have a couple beginner yoga programs. I tried their 3 Day Yoga Refresh and their 3 Weeks Yoga Retreat programs. Beach Body On Demand works with my schedule as I can stream any of their programs from anywhere at anytime! ?? Most mornings, I am streaming a yoga class at 4:30am before I start getting ready for work. Thus, Beach Body On Demand will always fit my schedule. Also, I can pause each class and learn a pose at my own pace. The ability to pause yoga lessons is imperative to avoid overextending myself in a way that could cause injury. I can master a pose or take a rest on a pause. 4. MODIFICATIONS, YOGA BLOCKS, AND A GOOD YOGA MAT! One of the great things about Beach Body On Demand is they stress doing modifications (for all of their programs) for people with back injuries, knee injuries, and for folks like me that are not flexible. The modifications for yoga include yoga blocks!!! After streaming one or two yoga classes, I realized that ordering yoga blocks was essential to my mastering beginners yoga. Out of all the yoga DVDS I watched and yoga classes I attended, I don’t remember any instructor stressing doing modifications….especially ones where yoga blocks were needed. Beach Body On Demand highly recommends modifications! This is super important especially when strength training. My yoga blocks have allowed me to achieve the impossible. I could kiss those blocks!? If you are finding yoga or tai chi to be challenging, I highly recommend ordering yoga blocks off of Amazon! GAIAM is the brand I selected after some research. Trust me….you will thank me later! Lastly, make sure you have a decent yoga mat. My original mat was a cheap one from Target or Walmart. It offered little to no support and my joints hurt when I started using it again. Amazon to the rescue!!! I ordered a SIVAN yoga mat that has changed my life! 3. PATIENCE! Now that you have selected your yoga program, have your yoga blocks, and have a good yoga mat….it is time to exude some patience! At the start of any fitness journey, your body has to slowly build up its strength and stamina. What I like about Beach Body’s 3 Weeks Yoga Retreat is all of the yoga instructors stress over and over that our bodies are not perfect. There will be days where we will be able to master certain poses and days when we stumble or fall (hopefully carefully). In the past, I always thought I had to do every pose correctly or yoga was just not for me. Now, however, I know to be patient with my body as it learns. Even with years of experience, the instructors still find certain poses challenging and difficult. I watched some of them stumble! Eureka! My yoga instructors are human too! ?? This knowledge being shared by my instructors allowed me to take the pressure off myself. Patience is truly a virtue and also key to learning anything new. 2. MEAL REPLACEMENT SHAKES! The first couple of weeks of practicing yoga, I just focused on learning. I kept my normal terrible eating habits but just aimed to not over eat. I don’t know about you but I can’t start a new exercise regime AND diet at the same time. God bless anyone who can. ?? I prefer to slowly condition my body and once I’m in a routine then I can start to tailor my eating habits. Last week, I bought a two week supply of Lean Shake 25 from GNC. It is meant to be a meal replacement supplement…NOT the only thing you eat/drink daily. Some days I use it to replace one meal (mostly breakfast after my yoga work out) and other days I don’t use it at all. I have never been into shakes…not even the good fattening kind….so drinking a shake is challenging for me on so many levels. I am a water, ginger ale, and Pepsi person. Juice isn’t my thing either. ??♀️ So I aim to drink at least 75% of the shake. I don’t add anything into it but water. However, many meal replacement shakes encourage us to add milk, fruit, and vegetables. I just choose not to. Since yoga is more of a strength training exercise, weight loss can occur but it is not the goal. Thus, meal replacement shakes can help you lose weight as you strength train. ?? Find one that meets your vitamin content and taste requirements. 1. SLEEP! When I first started my Beach Body On Demand fitness journey, I never meant to only focus on yoga. Then I got hit with a bad bout of insomnia. Yoga was the only exercise I could do at 4:30am or at night that was not draining. I think that is because it has a relaxation component. Yes I was moving slower than usual and had to be careful not to injure myself but I was still able to successfully complete each lesson. Sometimes I had to take breaks and then continue a lesson. Other times, I could not complete a lesson. This is where patience comes in. Ride out the bad days with as many smiles and a sense of gratitude as you do the good days. ?? Finally my insomnia paused and I got some sleep. This is when the scale started moving. I cannot stress how important sleep is even when you are watching what you eat and exercising. The body needs rest to lose weight and get fit. If you remember nothing else I say…please remember this. Your body cannot function properly without an adequate amount of sleep. Once I started sleeping, combined with practicing yoga everyday, I went from 210 pounds (my highest weight ever) to 204.5 pounds! ?? Small victory but still an impressive victory given the challenges I have faced for almost two months. ~KJM on Charm School Monday! Never forget that small victories add up to huge wins over time. Please try to yoga (or any exercise you prefer) every damn day with me….even if it’s just for 15 minutes a day! ? EDITOR’S NOTE: Please consult your physician when starting a new diet and exercise plan. Everything in this blog is based on my own personal experiences and is meant for entertainment purposes only. One Love❤️
