Here is a picture of me doing bow pose two days ago. Below is a picture from three weeks ago. The picture was taken after class and I was tired and did not get as low and flat as I did in class, but am I thinner than three weeks ago?
“Hey your ass is clearing up”
I think, as I drop my hand and rub my butt cheek, that my ass is clearing up and then he adds, “The zits are gone”. Your probably still wondering what I am doing on the scale naked in the living room, but wait, you don’t know the scale is in the living room. Now you do! Yes, I am standing naked in the living room looking at the scale when Bill informs me that my ass acne is disappearing.
One of the benefits of Bikram Yoga is that your body cleanses itself of toxins. It seems my ass has been a zit magnet from all the ingrown hairs for years. Probably related to being on a horses all day long, sweating and rubbing that dirty sweat into my ass even deeper. But hot yoga really does cleanse and detox you from all the evil toxins we consume.
My skin is starting to radiate. Maybe it is the yoga or maybe it is the fact that I am not eating crappy food, or maybe it is both. Just gotta love what Bill point’s out!
- I think my belly is smaller, what do you think? The shorts I had on in the above are mediums and don’t go down my thigh as far. I had to give up on the extra large size I had been wearing. But in the above picture you can see more definition under my ribs.
Bill is like that, he is full of all sorts of loving observations. Last week he said, “Will your face is not the size of a globe anymore”. Great, I am no longer The Planetary Yogi. My face is what now? The size of the moon…..anything else you want to tell me Bill? Though to be honest, there are things I can see now when I look down, that 23 pounds ago I could not see. I will leave that your imagination.
I must be fair, Bill loves me more than anything in the world and I am lucky to have such a wonderful man in my life, his observations are real and honest, never hateful. Wish I could say the same, I am a bitter old queen, ask Bill, he will tell you that!
Needless to say today was Day 26 of the 60 Day Challenge! We were taught by another Yoga professional Brandi Lyn Wynfield (link to video) from Salt Lake City. She liked my bow pose, though when I was giving up in awkward pose, she caught me and said, “Will don’t give up”.
‘Give Up’? I thought, I would love to give up, but my life depends on me being here, so there is no room to give up. That was a BREAK! You know, the little break you sneak in when no one is watching. OK, so I was giving up, in that pose, in that moment. This, hot yoga, is not easy, in fact, it is F-word hard. Especially after I got on the scale naked right before class and looked at the number and saw that it was six pounds heavier than the day before.
To be fair to myself, which I am not. I had drunk 3/4 of a gallon of water, had three eggs, 1 cup of spinach, a slice of bacon and a turkey salad for lunch. I am not sure why I stripped down to my birthday suit and jumped on the scale at 2:00 PM. I weigh myself only in the mornings on Saturday, before I eat any food or drink any water. So clearly, I was looking at a scale that reflected two meals and 3/4 of a gallon of water. The only thing clear though was my ass acne!
Of course I carried that into my yoga practice. The first thing I saw when I looked in the mirror was that globe face had returned. Thanks Bill! There is the Planetary Yogi, he is back! Can you imagine how self-deprecating a whimsical jump on the scale can cause one to become? All I saw, as I stared at myself was fat! No amount of rationalizing seems to help, in those moments. I whipped myself into a frenzy! I simply needed a cupcake and I was ready to tip the F-word wagon over, screw falling off of it. GIVE ME CHOCOLATE MILK!!!!
Do I really think I gained 6 pounds in less than 24 hours? No. I mean, I only had one small bag of pop corn at the movies last night, no butter. It was a little splurge. I have been sneaking in one small bag of movie popcorn a week, for the last month. That has been my only weekly indulgence, besides binge day. There is no way one small bag of butter-less popcorn could put on six pounds in 24 hours. I KNOW THAT!!!!!
But the scale transforms my whole practice for today, even though I know I am just being crazy and that I did not gain six pounds in less than 24 hours. It would not be humanly possible given that I eat only beans, vegetables, and lean protein. But still I see every bump and bulge in class. Today, I noticed that one of my man tits is smaller than the other, well…..what I really noticed was one man tit was larger than the other and that is where the 6 pounds went, it found one of my man tits!
Yes, this is a real yoga experience, by the end of class the fat guy disappeared and I started seeing all the changes I made in class. Today, was the first time in rabbit pose that my head hit the towel. Today, in our first forward bend, my hands went from under my feet to under my heels as I straightened my legs. Today, during standing separate leg head to knee pose, my head actually went to my knees. That guy in the mirror is me, filled with insecurities and weaknesses, but willing to see myself as I am. Sometimes I am really hard on myself, especially when I am standing naked on a scale.
Though the scale did not tell all the story did it!
Click here to see me get into Standing Bow on The Fat Yogi on You Tube. This was after class and I am tired, but you can see that it is a lot of work. I fall right out, but in class that day I rocked it good and hard!
The Fat Yogi 