It’s the beginning of a new year and we spend our time sifting through advertisements showing people and products that make us feel like we need to be different. So much time and effort - stress and confusion - depression and resistance fill our hearts and minds as we try to figure out what we are supposed to be. New Years resolutions can be a great way to start a life journey to be a healthier version of ourselves, but it doesn’t mean that we must change our core beings.
The most important resolution - in my opinion - is to wake up each day with a positive affirmation. Even repeating the same affirmation everyday helps our brain and body communicate in a more efficient manner to help us conquer the negativity surrounding us. There is science behind how positive affirmations help our brain reduce depression and create empowerment for success in our life goals. The key is to find positive affirmations to help us find fulfillment. In yoga, positive affirmations are called - Sankalpas. In an effort to create positive affirmations, we sometimes end up creating (negative affirmations) Vikalpas - that actually foster negative sensations. Some examples of Sankalpas - "I am Healthy" "I am Strong" "I am Loved" - Some examples of Vikalpas - "I am not fat" "I don't have weakness" "I am not hated". Anytime we add "no" or "not" we instantly find negativity. Along with that negative word, what we are trying "not to do" we end up repeating over and over again - instilling those negative thoughts and feelings in our brains. The last thing we need is to add to any negativity loops we may be trapped inside. The key is to find strength through positive affirmations while changing our brain chemistry to keep us mentally strong.
In our quest to be healthy, ayurveda - yoga's sister science, offers guidance to help us find overall health with discovering our Dosha, and eating, moving, and interacting with our environment in a way to facilitate a balanced self. A simple morning routine to help us get our day started off great, includes drinking room temperature water while getting rid of waste in our bodies - teeth, mouth, body, urine, bowels, etc - along with asana and meditation. Once you've learned more about your dosha, you can incorporate aspects in your day to strengthen you on a personal level.
Along with help from Ayurveda to gain health, we can think about transitioning into eating only during certain times in the day. One time frame is only eating during a 12 hour window - that means if the first cup of coffee is at 7:00am, we put the last bit of food and drink in our body by 7:00pm. The science behind this type of intermittent fasting allows the internal organs to rest for 12 hours a day, and with that rest the body finds more optimal functionality.
Another aspect of overall health is incorporating yoga asanas. Yoga asansas have a multitude of health benefits that lead us to feel good about ourselves and help us make the best decisions for our health each day. Yoga creates strength, muscle tone, balance, flexibility, energy and more. There are multitudes of weight loss journeys beginning with incorporating yoga - including mine. When I began practicing yoga 7 years ago I had gained weight over several years from a variety of stressors. When I began a consistent yoga practice, I found strength to make better choices for my overall health. Over the course of 5 months, I lost 30 lbs. It wasn't an easy weight loss journey. It took an entire month to lose 4 lbs - which was extremely frustrating! If it wasn't for the support of my husband cheering me on to keep it up, I wouldn't have had as much will power to continue the health journey I had chosen. Before yoga, I had been lifting weights and jog/walking, but it wasn't until I chose to be mindful about the food I choose to eat each day that the scale began to go down. There are multiple studies showing how the food we eat plays a big role in how we feel each day. With yoga, I began to take notice and allow mindful changes in my life that help me feel better overall each day.
The video below is a flow of yoga poses that produce positive feelings in the body. When we feel good, we tend to be good to ourselves and others.
A list of postures from the video - Easy Seated Pose (with option of the Gyan Mudra - pointy finger touching thumb with palms up - and adding a mantra of choice - "I am healthy" is a great one), Cow and Cat, Downward Dog, Three-Legged Dog, Warrior 2, Warrior 1, Dancer Pose, Sugarcane, Garland Pose, Crow, Headstand, Wheel, Reclined Butterfly - Feel free to choose any pose and find relaxation with that pose - or work on the flow - adding or taking away poses shown to find the best feel for your body each day.
Don't ever feel that you are alone in your health goals. Please let me know if you'd like me to be your accountability partner. One of the aspects in my weight loss journey was me writing down on an app all of the food/drink I was partaking each day. I was wearing a heart rate tracking device (like a fitbit) that tracked the amount of calories I burned each day, so it was easier for me to see the amount of calories i should take in that would be less than the calories going out. There are an abundance of devices if you feel that would help you on your journey, but in my mind, knowing i would have to write down if i ate 3 cupcakes - and someone healthy might see it (even thought no one ever did) - led me to only eat the 1 cupcake. I also made a point of not eliminating anything specific from the daily food - only limiting the amount of calories i took in to be less than went out. With all the fun apps scanning food packages, documenting food intake is easier than ever!
Whatever your goals for your health, I encourage you to write them down. Weight is subjective, and shooting for a specific number can be discouraging over time. Feeling good each day is a great health goal. Finding strength to take food out of our lives that make us feel bad each day is what yoga can help us to achieve.
If you have always wanted to try yoga, but felt uncomfortable attending a yoga class, let me know and I can share free beginning yoga videos with you to get you started. If you, or a group of friends, would like a private consultation to help you on your healthy yoga journey, contact me for private session information - clarissapyeattyoga@gmail.com.
Blessings for Strength, Health, and Positivity this year - and forever more!
