First of all, DDPYoga literally saved my life. When I joined the DDPYoga lifestyle, I weighed over 300 lbs. I could not tie my shoes, I got tired after walking less than 100 yards, my feet constantly hurt from plantar fasciitis, and I figured I was "too old" to do anything about my weight, and felt like I couldn't, because of the pain. Fast forward 2 1/2 years, and I attended the DDPYoga Retreat in Cancun, Mexico! I did all but 1 workout. I loved every minute of it. I got feedback from Dallas on my form, and set a personal goal with him at the going away party, (which everyone does!), to lose 30 lbs. in 6 months. He told me it was a pretty aggressive goal but I said yes. I went home, with newfound energy and commitment, and lost 20 lbs of the 30. Then I was stuck. I was stuck because of something that I choose not to share publicly, but something that I DID share with my accountability partners, and did my best to work through. Having said that, I lost those 10, about a week before the 6 month mark and proudly emailed Dallas and shared.
I figured I would continue on and continue to lose, but life and the universe had different plans. My personal life continued to flouder and it floundered in ways that made it really hard to hit my mat, really hard to even find a place to workout with the quiet that I personally need to do DDPYoga. I stopped working out. During this time frame, I also was reminded by a specialist that not giving my left achilles, which was inflamed, time to heal, meant it would always be an issue. So I rested it. And I ate. 2016 is a banner year in my life, and will never be forgotten. There was good, there was bad, there was "wait, are you kidding me, this isn't my life." But it happened, and it is what it is. It's over.
Fast forward to January of 2017. Every year, I pick a word to live by. I set an intention of living by that word and what it means. This year, I picked PEACE. I wanted to reclaim the peace that I had built in my life, and I meant business. On January 3rd, I joined Weight Watchers. I was so close to 300 at this point that it scared me. I was, however, done playing around, and intent on losing the 30 lbs I had lost with the goal with Dallas, and more. This was it. I decided to do WW and remain gluten and dairy free, as that's how I feel healthiest. At first, I didn't add any exercise in. I just didn't really have time. Our granddaughter lives with us part of the time and is much more fun than Dallas and DDPYoga. :) I went to the gym sporadically and rode the bike. I even dropped the too-far-from-home-gym and joined 24 hour fitness around the corner from home and biked. A lot. I did that for several months. I lost about 18-20 lbs. Slowly.
In mid-June, a friend posted on Facebook that she was looking for people who wanted to participate in a test exercise group. I answered immediately. "Sure, why not." She folded me into a group of women, who, come to find out, would be active participants in me reclaiming my life even further and realizing how many lies I had told myself about my age and abilities. This was a Beachbody group. I didn't know it at the time, but many of the ladies in the group are my age. Experienced in life, and all with "stories", all different, but all important in who each of us is.
I started to lose inches and pounds. I started working out at home, but I changed it up. I do as many of my workouts as I can in the backyard on the patio. Once the weather cools, I'll move inside, as I do when it's over 90, but for most of the summer, I've worked out on the patio. It's been amazing. Lots of light, sun, soft breezes, and, lately, dragonflies that come back again and again to accompany me on my journey.
It's now the end of August. I'm now down a total of 28 lbs and at least 11.5 inches. I'm due to measure this weekend so I'll have to update once I do that, but suffice it to say, I've had to donate clothes, buy clothes, and tighten my belt a bunch since starting Beachbody.
So what does this have to do with DDPYoga? I'm still a member of the community, and occasionally, I hit my mat and do a workout. I have the app and once in a blue moon I use it. For daily use, I've found that right now, at the health level I'm at, I push myself too hard in DDPYoga for what my body can tolerate, so I've backed off some and am building tone and muscle with Beachbody workouts, but I have NO intention of giving up DDPYoga. None. I just want to build some core strength, ankle strength, and shoulder strength to make my DDPYoga journey more fun and comfortable. For right now? I'm loving Beachbody on Demand as well! I'm a coach, and willing to share if you are interested in what I'm doing, just send me a message and we can chat!
I think that we all have our own fitness journeys. I also firmly believe that fitness journeys are multi-faceted. There is room for so much variety. Biking, hiking, lifting weights, DDPyoga, Pilates, whatever you choose. The most important thing is to keep moving. Don't stop. Keep fighting. Age IS just a number, but if you stop moving, it will be harder and harder to GET moving again. Never give up.
One last thing. You definitely want to keep an eye out here on my blog, because I'm working on a Soul Restoration retreat that will incorporate a few workouts as "tension relievers"!!! It's going to be a blast!!! (there might even be the opportunity to work with an Energy Coach!)
- Have a beautiful day!
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