I am anything but a morning person -- it's hard enough trying to wake up before 10 just to get to work on time. So the fact that I'm setting my alarm for 7 is beyond bonkers, but surprisingly, I love the change. There's something about doing yoga in my 18th floor apartment/Jennifer Aniston's Malibu beach pad that I find peaceful and relaxing.
The workout is calm but concentrated as we slowly transition from one pose to the next. I spend each moment in the present, focusing on my current position, not worrying about what�s next. The workout ends with me sitting cross-legged, eyes closed: Enter relaxation mode. This is my chance to have that much needed "me" time before the chaos of the daily grind begins.
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Yoga is like crack -- but better
Even after my daily session has ended, I find my body wanting to stay in motion. It feels good to move, and I can't stay sedentary for long without feeling antsy. I try to take more breaks at the office to get up and walk around, and I'll even do a quick plié squat while I'm getting a refill at the water cooler (when I'm sure no one's around -- I'm nobody's ballerina).
Out of left field, a friend remarks that I seem unusually "peppy" and I clue her in to my new workout regimen. Yoga expert Puja tells me that exercise increases endorphin levels (those "happy hormones") and the breath-work of yoga oxygenates the blood, which reenergizes the body. Exercise also helps me sleep better, so I have more energy the next day. And the mental concentration and connected movement between body and breath in yoga increases mental alertness, which is why I'm feeling more on top of things at the office.
Who needs Red Bull when you've got yoga?
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Food: Friend or foe?
I've been sluggish for the last couple of days. It's harder to wake up and work out, and my body feels like it's been through a lot. What's going on? I was feeling so good. Trying to make sense of it all, I get in touch with Kathy Kaehler, a fitness expert and food coach who has also worked with Aniston (who hasn't?). Kathy is the creator of the Sunday Set-Up, a meal organization routine designed to create healthy relationships with food, so I'm looking forward to her insight.
I mention that I work out in the morning before I eat (I read somewhere that working out on an empty stomach forces your body to burn current fat stores), but Kathy tells me that's probably why I'm feeling burned out so quickly -- and that I'll actually get more from my workout and even torch more calories if I have a light breakfast before my workout.
Kathy also calls me out on a major diet no-no: skipping lunch. While I thought I was saving calories, what I'm also doing is causing my blood sugar to dip, which explains why I always feel so pooped when 3 p.m. rolls around. Kathy stresses the importance of snacking two hours after breakfast and again in the afternoon, and she offers some healthy snack suggestions. Low-fat cheese with a few almonds; a handful of pretzels dipped in hummus; non-fat Greek yogurt with fruit; and an apple with a spoonful of peanut or almond butter are a few snack ideas she recommends.
She also tells me that if I'm looking to stay low on the calorie intake, I can opt for a light salad with veggies and fruit for lunch. I decide to follow Kathy's advice and the following day, I walk over to my local salad bar and throw together a healthy mix. Delicious. As I chomp down on my organic greens, strawberries, and figs, I vow to never skip lunch again.
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Caution: Detour ahead
I'm three weeks into my new workout program and feeling pretty good about myself. I haven't gone on a cookie binge or been bitten by the lazy bug. So, clearly, I'm one of the lucky few that gets with the program and deftly sidesteps any detours into bad behaviors.
Wrong.
It's just that I pick a "hidden" detour: I participate in a Saturday morning boot camp.
How can working out more be considered a detour? For starters, I've never done a boot camp. Ever. And this particular boot camp kicks my butt. Here's how it goes: I'm forced to do as many jumping jacks, squats, and weight repetitions as I can bust out in one-minute time frames. After just 10 minutes of this military style torture, I'm dizzy and feel like I might pass out. What have I done?
Yogalosophy is the complete opposite of boot camp -- everything in Mandy's workout is done in sets of eight: repetitions, breaths, and pulses. Why? Mandy says that eight is the number of power and abundance. Eight reps are easier on my body than countless military drills. Go figure.
After a session with Mandy I feel calm, relaxed, and strong. After boot camp? I'm exhausted, depleted, and weak. I've never been beaten up before, but I imagine it feels something like this.
The next day, I wake up sore. Too sore to work out. The following day is even worse. My muscles are on fire and I can barely move. So, I don't.
My mind is telling me to work out, but my body is begging me to leave it alone. My body wins, and I miss five days of Yogalosophy.
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From newbie to yogi
I'm back in the game and I feel rejuvenated (a bit stronger, too). I'm not having as much difficulty with the yoga poses I couldn't stand to do before. Especially Downward Dog. But, if I'm being honest, I do feel guilty for missing five days. So I check in with Puja, who confirms that I made the right choice by resting and staying hydrated. Muscles become dehydrated when they are sore, so water in the system lubricates the muscle fibers and shortens the recovery period. Light stretching and walking help alleviate the lactic acid build-up in the muscles, which causes the soreness. And if the body is so sore that it can barely move, Puja says that it's perfectly fine to take a day or two to rest completely. I think I love her.
Not only do I start to feel firmer, but I am also able to hold yoga poses more easily now -- and I find little ways to push myself during each routine, whether it's balancing just a little bit longer or squeezing my muscles as tight as possible while doing squats. I'm trying to adopt Mandy's suggestions of doing "just a little bit more" each workout in order to experience that "breakthrough" we are all waiting for, particularly when we hit a plateau.
While in the office kitchen one morning, Jane, one of my editors, asks me if I've lost some weight. And, for once, I can take the credit instead of awarding it to my amazingly slimming black blazer. As I tell Jane about my new yoga workout, I can't help but wonder, what would my results be after 60 days? Or even 90? Wait. Am I officially a yogi?
Ah, college. Two a.m. drive-thru dashes, cold Mu-Shoo for breakfast, a Hot Pocket (or three) for dinner. And beer. Let's not forget the beer. That was the life. The lazy, couch potato life. So, at the end of four long years, I left with a diploma in hand and 15 extra ugly/unhealthy pounds everywhere else.
These days I realize that I was all sorts of delusional to think that the weight would drop away after graduation like some collegiate ball and chain I'd been lugging around. Who was I kidding? After all, I was living pretty much the same life; it was just the venues that had changed. Parking my (considerable) butt in a lecture hall was replaced by sitting at a desk all day, and Thursday night beer pong transitioned into martinis and game night. Not exactly a recipe for weight loss.
Frankly, getting thinner wasn't very high on my to-do list. Sure, I always thought it'd be nice to feel fitter and look slimmer, I just figured I'd get to it at some point down the line. Then, I happened to look -- really look -- at the ever-growing pile of too-small clothes that had overrun my closet. My "fat" jeans were now the pair I was grabbing most often. Talk about an "a-ha moment." I knew then that I had to take action or I'd run the risk of having things snowball further out of control.
This is the part where I'm supposed to say that I joined a boot camp and got lean and mean, or that I embarked on a successful cleanse and am now 100 percent vegan. Sorry to disappoint but, believe it or not, my inspiration came from an article about Jennifer Aniston and how she attributes her fit, lean physique to practicing yoga. Could yoga give me a celebrity-worthy body too? And, even if it would, could I afford it?
Yeah, not so much. Personal trainers may be fine for the celeb set but I needed something much less expensive. So, I did some research and found Mandy Ingber's "Yogalosophy" DVD workout. Ingber has been teaching yoga and spinning in Los Angeles for more than 15 years and lists Aniston among her celebrity clients. I decided to plunk down the $14.95 and commit to a month's worth of daily workouts with Mandy to see what a couple of DVDs and a little determination could get a girl. Here's what happened �
