6 Days to Get the Best After Gym Feeling in the World
This is So Much Better Than Going to the Gym!
I put my gym membership on hold and decided to do yoga and meditation every day. I have done yoga in the past and loved it.
Before, I would do it a few days a week in combination with my gym workouts. This time is different.
In just 6 days, I can see my body reshaping itself. There is muscle definition in places that are normally the last places to change.
Not only that, but I can feel my entire body becoming healthier. My skin is brighter, my organs are working better,
I have more energy and I am happier.
Yoga truly works on every level and is the perfect preparation for a deep meditation. It is soul food nourishing all the emptiness I habitually run from in a million tiny ways.
Here is how my life has changed so far.
Meditation
It has been 6 days of meditating 4 hours every day. There have been subtle levels of realization about the nature of thoughts.
Coming back to stillness no matter what the mind is doing creates a softness. There is more of an allowance of what is now. My mind races or it focuses but there is an Isness of presence within.
Experience has changed. It is visual, emotional, full of thoughts, traveling, realizing, loving, etc…
Today, I realized that I can do my life just for fun, without trying so hard. I can just participate in it because it brings me joy.
Everything I do doesn’t have to taking me somewhere or achieving something. I can sink into the action just because it is my life. That is enough.
We can get so caught up in striving to thrive that we forget to have fun. This simple reminder has filled my body with relief.
I believe this is the key to getting back to the innocence I so deeply long for. As a child, I could get lost for hours in one activity and wasn’t the least bit concerned about where it was going. I was just being creative. This is innocence and we can give ourselves permission to be like this even for a moment.
Yoga
Day 1 – Circuit Training Yoga
Day 2- Cardio Yoga
Day 3 – Yin Yoga
Day 4 – Strength
Day 5 – Mountain Pose & Pranayam
Day 6- Detox Yoga
This is what I’ve done so far and it has taken me on a roller coaster of discovery.
I have gone to the edges of my seeming physical and emotional limitations and then a bit further.
The first night as I slept, I could hear and feel popping as my spine continued to open. The first loud crack scared me until I felt the euphoric release that followed.
I would wake up throughout the night and feel subtle levels of bliss waving through my spinal column.
Not too bad for the first day back on the mat after a long 5-month break.
The 2nd day was a challenge because it was cardio and my arms were so sore they could barely hold me in plank.
Chaturanga Dandasana almost killed me but I kept going.
It felt like I’d climbed Mt. Everest by the time we got to Shavasana.
I half expected a crowd of people to be outside with cameras and congratulations for my amazing accomplishment.
It was enough to just feel the endorphins flowing into my whole body.
I was sweaty, giddy and full of peace. Wow. How did I ever live without this?
My mind was busy at the start of Yin Yoga and it took a few poses to settle in.
When we were stretching our knees, I was taking it easy with my previously injured left knee and I felt a pain about a minute into the post.
I decided to just breathe into it and send the joint love. I rode it out and by the time we reached to 2/12 minute mark the pain was gone.
This was the first time I did not experience knee pain after doing Yin Yoga. Yay!! My knees are being healed for good.
Strength yoga challenged me in all the right ways.
I already noticed an increase in my leg and arm strength after only 3 days.
I also can see more definition in my arms and abs.
During Pranayama I could literally feel noxious toxicity leaving my lungs as they expanded to hold pure oxygen to capacity.
It was truly invigorating. I could even feel it in my kidneys and liver.
My whole body was responding to the deep inhalations of life force.
Beautiful.
During the meditation practice at the end, tears streamed down my face as I felt immense gratitude for our planet.
My heart expanded to an overwhelming level. It physically felt like it was being stretched inside my chest.
Profound is an understatement.
My clothes are fitting loose already.
Since a full body yoga practice has been shown to balance hormones, it is no surprise to have fast weight loss.
It works on the endocrine system and internal organs creating overall optimum health.
Beyond the physical, I feel a profound change in the way I am being.
In just 6 days of practice, I feel more grounded, centered, calm, peaceful, happy, hopeful, creative, healthy, loving, and grateful for every precious moment.
I can feel my chakras being activated and just overall elevation in frequency.
I have also been practicing the art of honoring myself…just as I am. Whatever it is I’m feeling, I can honor it.
Writing
In addition to yoga, and meditation, I have committed to writing every day.
Some days, I wake up dreading it. Just the consistency of doing the same things every day can be annoying.
That is until I actually start writing. It has ended up being the biggest gift and surprises me almost daily.
As the words flow, I see things from a new perspective, a voice comes out that needed to be heard.
It can feel like I’m being possessed sometimes as my fingers start flying over the keys.
Magic happens when I least expect it. It is a freeing process in ways I don’t even realize until after the fact.
It enriches the process of deepening and I want to invite you to join me. just begin writing a little every day.
I’d love to hear your experiences. Please feel free to share them with me as it is happening.