First off, Happy New Year!
Many of you know that for the past 6 months, I have been doing DDP Yoga. During that time, I have had a lot of success with the program, losing over 25 lbs and more than 35 inches. I won’t lie, it isn’t easy. But, it is possible. It is possible for anyone.
Many of you know that for the past 6 months, I have been doing DDP Yoga. During that time, I have had a lot of success with the program, losing over 25 lbs and more than 35 inches. I won’t lie, it isn’t easy. But, it is possible. It is possible for anyone.
Whenever I share how much I’ve lost and how long I've been doing this, people ask me how I stay motivated. I have been thinking about that a lot. How *do* I stay motivated? I realized that the answer is easy and complicated all at once.
I take one day at a time, one workout at a time, sometimes one move at a time, and even, in some of the more difficult workouts, one minute at a time. I accept my actions for what they are. Every time I move, I am taking a step toward better health, flexibility, and overall well being. For me, that’s the goal. Losing weight? It will come, with dedication, determination, and a whole lot of focus.
“Comparing yoga to DDP Yoga is like comparing a bicycle to a Harley-Davidson. They both have two sets of wheels, but that’s where the similarities end.”
-Diamond Dallas Page
When I started doing DDP Yoga, in June of 2013, I did a grand total of 52 minutes in the first week. 52 minutes. A whole 7 days and that’s all I did. But, that was 52 minutes MORE than I did the week before. It was a win. When I started, in that first week, I took my photos. I “cheated” for the leg stretch photo, seen below. I held onto the wall, and lifted my leg, then flailed wildly, laughing because I really thought I was going to fall. And I did fall. More than once. I struggled with all of the photos, actually… it was really hard. It was hard to look at myself and face what I’d created. It was hard to acknowledge that I had not taken good care of myself. I felt like a failure. I had failed my body. My one and only precious body. But you know, I had to stop thinking that way and pick myself up, take the photos and move forward. I had my husband take the photos. THAT was the hardest thing ever. Then, because I survived that, I decided to post them, publicly for all the world to see. What if they helped someone? Just one person. What if.
Here’s a progression photo, showing that Day 1 photo, along with each month since. THIS is motivating. Looking and SEEING how much more flexible I am is enough motivation to prove to me that this program works. It’s shaping me into a whole other person. Yes!
Because of a chance encounter with someone on the team ddp yoga site, I started a google doc with my minutes and workouts. I kept it through the whole 6 months, in fact. I didn’t really look at it much, as far as comparing what I was doing to what I’d done, until a couple of weeks ago. I really looked at it. That’s when I realized that I did 52 minutes that first week. Now, on average, I do over 200 minutes a week! Really. Insane, right? I actually try to do more than that, and some weeks I am closer to 300 minutes, but with the holidays and other factors, it’s been closer to 200 lately, so we’ll stick with that.
Right there, what I just listed, that’s motivation. That’s how I stay motivated. Well, that and I hang out on the Team DDP Yoga site and have people I am accountable to, both there and on Facebook. I know that, if I were on this journey in my own little house, in my own little world, with no outside influence, and no contact with anyone else on a similar journey, that I would roll up my yoga mat and let it sit in the corner as a good intention that never came to fruition. But, because I’ve built up a network, a clan, a tribe of people who support me and share this portion of my life journey, I’m eliminating weight and inches and building a body that I can be proud of. Every day, I make it a point to compliment myself on some part of my body. It used to be that I’d like my hair, my eyes, or once my ears. (Not kidding.) Now, I’m reaching a point where, on a regular basis, I catch sight of my arms in the mirror and stop and think “wow! those are some nice looking arms.” The other day, I actually looked at my leg, flexed it and thought “yes, that’s how I want my calf to look.” HUGE stuff. Really huge. For me. Maybe not for someone else, but for me? Really big. I’m waiting for the day when I decide I like my behind. (Hey at least I’ve stopped calling it my “caboose.”) :)
Oh yes, and I eat whole, real food. At the moment, I am dairy free. Eventually, I will also be gluten free, but that's another post for another day. :)
Until then, you will find me, 5 of 7 days at least, on my mat, doing whatever Diamond Dallas Page tells me to do, and striving to do each move better than I did it the previous time.
So proud of you!
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