Day 29

A few days ago, I mentioned that the blue pants (my bellwether indicator of 'ideal body weight') were fitting a bit snug, but fitting. Yesterday, I tried them on and the snugness was gone, so I wore them to brunch, to a flurry of compliments. I guess they do seem 'new' since I haven't worn them in well over a year. Today, on a whim, I tried on a pair of shorts that haven't fit in years - I nearly donated them to Goodwill last fall. They fit! I was ecstatic! No need to buy new shorts for my upcoming camping trip. Coming soon: an enthusiastic dive into 'clothing storage' to find all the skinny clothes I thought I wouldn't wear again anytime soon.

I'm sure my sugar-free, low-fat diet has a lot to do with this, along with the long walks I've been taking every day since early May. But I'm also sure that 2 hours of daily yoga practice every day, particularly a vigourous practice like Ashtanga, hasn't hurt. To be honest, I'm amazed that it was this easy. My metabolism seemed to take a dive last year and I was sure it was due to my age. No amount of effort seemed to budge my bulge. I felt doomed. When I resolved to start walking every day, it was more of a summer project than anything. And I started the sugar fast because I felt I ate far too much sugar and it affected my moods. But it wasn't until I started doing the primary series that everything kind of 'firmed up.'

It will be interesting to see how Ashtanga affects weight maintenance. If I manage to do this practice 365 times over the coming year as planned, how will my body change? Will my metabolism change? And on another level still, will my meditation deepen? How will this effect my teaching (of mainly Hatha Yoga classes)?

My practice was sweaty today. I started out very distracted, mentally writing a to-do list for the camping trip and fussing about the details, but I settled in after a few standing poses. Today, I noticed the I was using ujayi breath more instinctively than I ever have before.

Apparently, I hate Marichyasana C. How do I know this? Because I blissfully went straight from B to D without stopping. Then I had to backtrack to catch C. I think my subconscious is telling me something (and she's absolutely correct!).

My back is still cranky in Urdhva Danurasana and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. I've come to a mindful acceptance of my own stiffness and I'm not going to let it get in the way of the joy of my practice. I did the backbend three times to the best of my ability and celebrated what I *could* do.