Getting started

November 24, 2012

So I decided to start this fitness journal / blog for many different reasons. Actually, the first and foremost reason as a celebration. A celebration of the gift that God has given me. Health, opportunity, 2nd chance...now I see and understand, it's all about honoring Him with all areas of my life. This is also a celebration of my 'light' of understanding clearly on. Where many years it wasn't.  While this blog is meant to be about my fitness journey, the beginning here is important, as I want you to know where I came from and how I came about to be where I am now in terms of health and fitness.

My fitness history

I had typically been of average / slightly overweight throughout childhood/ teenage years. I wasn't 'fat' when I was young, but I wasn't like all of the popular girls. In my early 20's, I began to go to the gym. I got a trainer. I started working out 5 days per week. I started lifting weights. I worked my way from a size 12 to a size 4 and was addicted to the gym. All of the sudden, I was receiving a lot of attention from many people. It felt good. I started thinking of my working out as a social thing and lost sight of what was really important. I got involved with the wrong crowd at 3 different gyms. I signed up to be in a fitness competition where you were judged by the way you looked. I got down to a size 0. I remember crying (tears of happiness) in dressing rooms, as I was so excited to fit into the 'cute' clothes. Of course, that led to more wrong thinking about my fitness. The 'cuter' I was and the cuter clothes that I had, the more attention I received. When the competition training and competition itself was over, it was really over. I had lost my sense of self, didn't know how to maintain a healthy weight or how to live healthy. I had only known 'competition' eating and thinking. Part of the training was to have a cheat day. Well, since i wasn't 'training' anymore, every day was a cheat day. I could go on and on with how this downhill spiral affected every area of my life, but since this is fitness blog. I will leave it at that and I hope that you get the idea. For years after, I did maintain my love for working out, but again, with the wrong focus I felt sad much of the time.


The 'Find'!
About 6 months ago, I started taking yoga classes at Yahweh Yoga in Chandler, Arizona. I had always been interested in yoga and had taken a few different classes over the years. While I have always really enjoyed the practice of yoga, I had always been mentally/ spiritually uncomfortable with the spiritual focus of the classes that I had taken. I couldn't relate to what was being said as it felt out of line with what I believed. (Now, I want to say that the places that I have been to are really great places in terms of teachers, people, businesses etc.- they just didn't feel 100% comfortable to ME.)

I went online and googled yoga studios in Chandler. I was SHOCKED to find a yoga studio, called Yahweh Yoga. (For those of you who do not know what Yahweh means, it is a Hebrew word for God. One of the names of God.) At first, I thought- this cannot be a 'real' yoga studio (as I was comparing to what I had experienced in the past). Of course, I had to go check it out. When I walked in, I felt very at home and comfortable. The art they had on the walls, the attitudes and welcoming nature of the staff immediately put me at ease. I thought, "Wow. This a cool place. But, what about the classes? What if they are wimpy and not very 'yoga-like'. I still want to experience the 'real' deal, just without the chanting!" To my great surprise, the classes kicked my butt!!! It was perfect; everything that I wanted! A great balance of what I need and love about yoga while maintaining the spiritual beliefs and attitudes that I am more comfortable and relaxed with. 

Yahweh Yoga

The owners of this studio are a mother / daughter team. I had to ask them about how they started this and if they are Christians, how yoga fit into that belief (in order to name their studio and practice of Christ-centered yoga, Yahweh yoga. They explained that they did a lot of research about yoga, it's origins and what it stands for. Many people have thought that yoga was a religion or only 'belonging' to eastern religions. What they found was that yoga is a methodology not a religion and wasn't solely attached to the things above.  The owners also told me that there are many Christian yoga studios all over the country! I thought this was so cool and it debunked some of my own misconceptions about yoga.

Experiencing these classes are a great combination of praise and worship to God while taking care of your body. The music played during class is all great modern praise and worship music. Some people sing in class during the practice and I love this.  It felt so nice to me to have an hour of real peace and calm while doing something good for my health; something I could relate to and feel 100% good about.

Getting down to the point
When I first started classes, I wasn't able to move my body in many ways that looked as though they should be easy. My body was in the way of itself. This made me a little sad, but was also a really gentle way to remind myself why I was doing this. Class begins with much needed stretching, prayer and a scripture reading. This helps my mind to be in a good place to move my body. I cannot tell you enough about what an overall healthy experience this is for me.

On a more technical note: there is something in yoga called a vinyasa- you move your body through different movements in a flow. The moves aren't easy. They involve tremendous ab and upper body strength and control. For those of you who don't know yoga, you won't be able to relate to this next comment, but for those of you who do- during the vinyasa when from down dog or plank you have to walk or jump your feet to your hands, for many months I had to very deliberately walk my feet to my hands. It was frustrating as my body was really in the way of itself. It took me longer than other people. (Not that this matters, as there is no competition in yoga.) BUT NOW-  I can 'jump' the move AND jump it with good ab control! The first time I was able to do this, I almost cried! It was so exciting to me! My abs were stronger! I was progressing! I am still amazed every time!

At that moment, my weight loss / fitness journey became more about quality of my life and less about 'losing' x amount of weight. FINALLY, an answered prayer for me. A 'right' focus on weight loss and staying healthy. No more beating myself up about the past, expecting myself to be like I was. What I was back then was focused on all of the wrong things. I would much rather be a size 10 with the right attitude than a size 4 with the wrong one.