Yoga doesn’t just calm you down; it can also help you shed weight. Here’s how some sun salutes helped one skeptic get skinny
Nicole Beland
Week 2: Choosing My Gurus
The first step seemed obvious—cut out commute time and per-class charges by doing yoga at home, which meant getting some DVDs. I drove around borrowing titles from friends and by Monday night had a decent-size stack. Then I discovered the trouble with trying to exercise within 2 feet of your couch. Immediately after popping in the first DVD, I sat down and propped my feet up on the ottoman.
I watched a few minutes of two DVDs by big-name gurus, but it wasn’t until I put in the third, Yoga Shakti with Shiva Rea, that I stood up and rolled out my mat. I loved the fact that she had a real, strong-looking body, and the beach scenery was gorgeous. It had been another rough workday for me and the quiet, edge-of-the-world atmosphere was just what I needed. I finished the 30-minute basic workout and 15 minutes of “solar flow” before the phone rang. Two seconds later I was back on the couch, talking about yoga instead of doing it, but I had put in a solid 45 minutes. That night I stayed up until 1 AM working, but wasn’t overly stressed. As a result, I didn’t feel my usual compulsion to munch on Cheetos as I typed.
The next 2 days were a total bust. Work got crazy on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I decided a little QT with my boyfriend was more crucial than being thin. Finally, on Thursday I cracked open a DVD set that I’d ordered online, something called the Budokon Weight Loss System. I ended up loving the 50-minute workout. It started with some easy-to-moderate yoga, progressed into high-energy punching and kicking (I think I actually let out a “hee-ya!†at one point), and then finished with a short meditation.
Saturday afternoon, after forgoing yoga for paninis and mojitos the night before, I tried the last DVD in my triumvirate: Progressive Power Yoga with Mark Blanchard. Never mind that everyone on it is dressed in the same color, which makes them look like cult members. The yoga is intense. I could feel my butt getting smaller. So why wasn’t I any lighter the next day? Probably because I’d fit in only one intense and one semi-intense workout all week—and I’d eaten and drank even more than usual. But I was starting to feel more in tune with my body.
Weeks 3 & 4: Getting into a Groove
Now that I had a great mix of DVDs, the problem was getting myself to do them on a regular basis. It’s more my style just to work out when the urge strikes me, but I could see that there was no way that was going to cut it. The only way to be consistent, I was starting to accept, is to put life on hold for an hour and do the damn yoga.
To create structure while still giving myself some options, I got on the computer and whipped up my own customized weekly class schedule. It still felt like a bit of a chore, but my homemade schedule made things a lot easier. When I “missed†my 7:30 PM class on Monday, I made sure to do a 45-minute Yoga Shakti workout. By now my DVDs and yoga mat were a permanent fixture next to the TV, and I was keeping a pair of yoga pants and a tank top hanging on an easy-to-reach hook in my closet. And because I now had these yoga appointments to work around, I was able to make plans—I could watch a movie at 9 PM, or go to early dinners, and still fit in some yoga. That week I felt more energized and well-rested than I’d been in a long time. I also felt the desire to eat better. What was the point of doing all this great yoga if I was going to feed my body so much crap?
That week I dropped 2 pounds, and I’m convinced it had more to do with how well I was sleeping than with how many calories I burned. When I’m tired, I tend to eat tons to keep me awake and alert. Now that I had energy, I didn’t feel like I had to constantly refuel with food. And that connection to my body—which I got my first hint of during Week 2—was improving. With fork midair, I’d suddenly think, “Do I even want any more?”
Week 4, I stuck to my schedule and spent some time on the mat every day—even if it was just a short meditation in child’s pose. With my DVDs (I had returned the loaners to their rightful owners), I never had to do the same workout twice in a row. My teachers—all 6 inches of them on the TV—felt like personal trainers.
I finished my experiment 4.5 pounds lighter than when I started, and I’ve lost another half pound since then. Does yoga work for weight loss? It has for me. And it’s getting to a point where if I don’t do any yoga all day I feel like I’m missing out on something fun, relaxing, and satisfying. I’ll even close the door to my office, take off my shoes, and do a few sun salutations or twisting postures to get my blood flowing. It’s a far cry from that “ugh, I have to work out” feeling that used to plague me. When I finally slipped those size 27 jeans back on, I found myself more interested in the 2 percent stretch than how my butt looked in the mirror. What good is a pair of pants if you can’t do triangle pose in them?
Source: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/yoga/weight-loss-with-yoga-success-story-0?page=2