Check out the “Crane!”

Yoga: Crane is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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1. Give Peace A Chance: Try Yoga
2. Yoga: Firebird
3. 5 Things I Learned From Practicing Yoga

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

I could have a total hippie moment and tell you that Yoga relieves my stress, allows me to extend my flexibility, and makes me feel like I’m strengthening muscles I didn’t even know I had. Instead… I think I’ll have my hippie moment anyway.

I remember when I first started. I discovered FitTV on my cable, and caught an episode of Namaste Yoga. It’s a half hour episode of a woman with a soothing voice guiding you through Yoga positions, and three young and fit women displaying the positions and the transitions moving you from one pose to the next. I took my sweet time watching the show to see how the positions looked… and accepting the fact that I might look and feel like a complete fool for not looking as graceful as the women on the show.

Then I realized – I’m in my own house, by myself… why couldn’t I look a complete fool for a little while? Why not just give it a shot? Yoga has all these supposed benefits, why not indulge and see for myself?

I’ve got to tell you, I battled with this back in August. Now, it’s December. Not only did I finally develop theability to touch my toes, but I’ve uncovered flexibility I couldn’t imagine before. I’ve developed an appreciation for my body, what it’s capable of, and realized how connected my methods of self-care really are. Yoga helps me physically and emotionally. My emotional well-being allows me to stay focused in my quest to be a healthier eater. Eating better prepares me physically for how Yoga can better my body.

Okay, that was my hippie moment. All of that is to say, yes.. you may feel silly in the beginning… but you start feeling accomplished. You start feeling challenged. And if you take on the challenge, the accomplishments are that much more rewarding.

If you’re even the least bit intrigued, here is an episode of Namaste Yoga for you to preview. I’ll be adding the episodes to the video archives, so keep your eyes peeled.

Give Peace A Chance: Try Yoga is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2012. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: workout tips, Yoga

Real tears! Every yogi should be able to appreciate this.

“You wanna go with me?” “Na….amaste.”

Video Vault: The “Whole Foods Parking Lot” Guys Fall For The “Yoga Girl” is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2012. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fog and smog, hey yoga girl, namaste, Yoga

Yoga: Sun-Moon is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

Give the “Lotus Link” a shot!

Yoga: Lotus Link is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, workout tips, Yoga

Yoga: Gate Opening is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

Having said that, here is another clip from Namaste Yoga, a sequence titled “Firebird.” Enjoy!

Yoga: Firebird is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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2. Yoga: Lotus Link
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Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

Yoga: Riding The Wind is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

Yoga: Head To Knee is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

Maybe it’s just her arms.

I’m not playing either. She looks like she puts effort – actual effort – into those bad boys!

I know that the media had a field day with her figure. She was too toned. Women are supposed to be soft, curvaceous [but not too curvy, lawdy lawdy heaven forbid we see too much of a curve], and reflect no form of masculinity. Like muscles.

Forget all that. I am soft. I am feminine. But if I leave these arms the way that my weight loss left them, I’m going to look like an old beat up pillow. Unacceptable. I want arms like hers… not cotton-stuffed appendages like what I’d been stuck with.

For me, I know that in order for me to get my arms looking normal again after this weight loss, I’m going to have to build some serious muscle. There was never any bulk there before – only fat. Honestly, it used to make me uncomfortable – if I really took a good look at myself before I left the house some days, I’d stop and turn sideways… try to flex my arm in hopes that some shape would appear… sigh and shrug it off… then go on about my partying. Not like I could build muscle in ten minutes before doing what I had to do, right?

I must admit, the past 8 months have been exciting for my upper body. I can finally see my collarbone. My spare tire is fading away, and an actual slope is appearing in my backside. My back fat is shrinking, and my breasts have shrunk (from a 42DD to a 34C.) How am I doing on my journey?

I’m sure the next question is, “HOW?” The answer, really, is not a silly shake weight or a “perfect push up” machine.

Between yoga and push ups, I’ve been able to tone up my arms, my back, and even keep the skin of my breasts taut. Why? If you take a look at one of the yoga episodes I’ve posted on the site, you’ll be able to identify how much you have to lift, stretch, pull and tug those arms. The plank position – a common yoga pose that looks a lot like a push up without the drop down – works not only your back, but the ligaments in your chest that tighten and lift your breasts. Add to that the fact that it works both your biceps and your triceps (your outer and inner upper arm area?) You’re in there like swimwear.

For me, these are the best options. These are things that I can do at home without purchasing any equipment and without needing to be at a gym. I just click “play” on a yoga video on this site, and I go for it. I’m still a little flabbier than I’d like for myself, but I’m pretty proud of how far I’ve come.

So, in the meantime… I’m going to continue to stare lovingly at these photos of a sleeveless First Lady Obama (not in a creepy way, though) and keep on with my push-ups and my yoga routine.. and hope that you’ll join me!

Got tips? Questions? Ideas? Share ‘em!

My Quest For Michelle Obama Arms is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arms, exercises, workout at home, Yoga

Yoga: Half Moon is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

Yoga: Water Light is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

My daughter woke up at o’dark thirty – that’s country-talk for too-damn-early-for-toddlers – and I was getting breakfast all situated. I was feeling kinda jazzy and decided to turn to [what was then] FitTV, and started flipping through the TV Guide to see what shows they’d be offering. That’s when I saw it.

Namaste Yoga. A yoga show that aired 7 days a week called Namaste Yoga became my newest conquest. I mean, I wanted an activity outside of cardio and weights that would allow me to enjoy myself while still developing some new ability in the end… and yoga would, apparently, be it.

The show would air the same episode all day – once at 8:30, again at 12:30 and a third time at 6PM – and I decided to capitalize on the opportunity. I’d merely watch the first airing, practice during the second airing and go full in during the third airing. Why not?

That was two years ago. Several seasons, at least four different variations of yoga practice and countless yoga books later… I think I’m made a better woman for it. I definitely know I’m a much more fit woman – both physically and emotionally – for it.

Embracing yoga taught me something about committing to my body that I never had the opportunity to learn, before. Whenever I “took a break” from yoga, I came back to it rusty. Stopping caused me to lose not only the ability I’d developed, but the benefits of the ability that I’d developed. If I, as a beginner, learned how to hold the plank position for longer than thirty seconds, then take off from yoga for a month? Coming back to it and trying to get that 30 seconds in while holding the pose… is a hard lesson to learn. The only way I could see maintained and continued development of my body was through choosing to commit to it. That commitment wouldn’t come by happenstance.

Yoga taught me perseverance. There’s no more common a feeling than when you struggle trying to get into position for a yoga pose, and you fail. Miserably. There’s only one feeling that’s better than when you struggle trying to get a pose and finally get it. That feeling? When you stop struggling with it. The number of times I’ve fallen flat on my forehead trying to get that darn crane pose down pat have finally resulted in a time where I can at LEAST stop flattening my forehead and balance a bit better. I’m looking forward to the day when I’ll effortlessly fly into position and just hang out there for a while.

Yoga taught me patience. I couldn’t just jump into it, because I’d either fail to keep up or I’d bust my tail. I had to understand that there were things I’d have to learn in order to be an effective and successful yogi. Yoga requires a certain level of strength and flexibility that doesn’t come overnight. Trying the side plank before my body was strong enough would’ve meant that I would’ve injured myself. Being patient with my body and waiting for my strength and flexibility to catch up to what I was mentally prepared for was a challenge, but it has taught me that when I reach a place of anxiety or frustration in my life… to just be patient. I’m not the only one with lessons to learn in life, and we’re all in different places as we learn those lessons.

Yoga taught me humility. Nothing – no book reading, no person “teaching” you – can prepare you for what it’s like that first time you try to get into what you consider an “easy” position, and you find out that it hurts. A lot. Nothing can prepare you for the first time you assume a pose that’s as seemingly easy as the Warrior II pose, only to find that after a few seconds, your shoulders and biceps hurt like hell because they’re not strong enough to hold your entire arm up the way you thought they were. Arrogance, in yoga, can get you embarrassed at best and hurt at worst. Approaching everything like a beginner who needs to soak up every ounce of information, no matter how many years you’ve been practicing, ensures that you pay enough attention to the small details  – how is the foot turned? are you sitting on the ground or on the heel of your foot? – necessary to execute a pose properly. Approaching a pose like an expert simply because it looks easy means you’re probably missing the mechanics that make that “easy” pose a challenge, and your time and efforts are wasted simply because you thought too highly of yourself.

Yoga taught me the value of silence… and listening. Not in telling my body what I want, but in remaining silent and listening to my body. If my body tells me its not ready to balance on one leg while I hold the other in the air behind me (dancer pose)? I listen. I’m not strong enough for that yet… so I proceed with caution. Through the other principles, I learn to dutifully continue practicing my pose until I develop the strength, flexibility and trust in my abilities to get it done.

And I’ll give you a bonus one – yoga taught me how incredible the human body truly is, and that – with time – it can grow to handle almost anything you throw at it. Treat it right, and the rewards will be plentiful.

As I’m in a period of time where I’m learning how to fit more yoga into my daily routines, I’m getting back into incorporating these principles into my daily life as well. I’ve learned that approaching things in my life as a commitment that I’ve chosen has changed how I solve problems in my life. Yoga taught me the value of perseverance and never quitting. Yoga taught me to approach everything as a novice – no matter how advanced I become – because there is always something to learn. Yoga taught me how to listen to my body and not let my mind get the best of me.

Most importantly, it taught me to trust myself. It taught me to trust my commitments and my efforts, because even though the human body doesn’t produce immediate results – with anything – it will produce results. There’s no doubt about that.

5 Things I Learned From Practicing Yoga is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: commitment, humility, mentality, patience, perseverence, silence, Yoga

Yoga: Earth is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga

Yoga: Dancing Sun is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

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2. Yoga: Sun-Moon
3. Yoga: Half Moon

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: exercises, workout at home, workout routine, Yoga