Hello Beautiful Friend,
This week I had the honor of taking a yoga workshop with Manju Jois who is the son of Pattabhi Jois, the founder of Ashtanga Yoga. Manju began practicing yoga at the age of 7 and is now in his 70s but looks like he is 40! His body barely has a wrinkle, not even his face. His jolly smile, wisdom and laughter reminded me to slow down and enjoy life.
Each morning after practice I felt lighter, brighter and more connected both in body and mind. We discussed breathing, asana (the yoga poses) and life. Over the years, I’ve witnessed the powerful effects yoga has had on my body and mind – one being sustained weight loss.
During our discussion, Manju joked that in the West we eat too much and walk around stressed out. Stress breeds disease and eating too much kills your prana (life force). He reminded us to slow down, chew and enjoy our food. The practice of yoga helps you bring awareness to the types of foods you eat and the manner in which you eat them – rushed, bored, distracted, etc.
How does this relate to your weight loss efforts?
This week I want you to slow down and take a deep breath before eating one of your meals. The food that you consume literally creates your cells. You feel different both in mind and body when you eat at McDonalds verse a home cooked meal, right? Your energy is different when you eat a donut for breakfast versus a green smoothie?
My challenge for you this week is to eat without distraction for at least one meal per day. Chew your food and savor the taste.
You might find that when you pay attention to what you eat, your choices are different. Unhealthy foods don’t seem as appealing. You might find you don’t need as much food as you thought to fill you up. Notice what feelings come up. Do you get bored or anxious when focused only on the meal you are consuming? Why? Journal if needed and start to deconstruct the reasons you might be eating that have nothing to do with hunger, such as comfort, love and relaxation. Sorry to say those brownies don’t love you or support your ultimate well-being.
This one technique is powerful for weight loss and weight maintenance. Try it out for a week and share your results with the group in the comment section below.
Cheers to mindful eating,
Jackie
PS. Bonus points if you do yoga this week. Come visit me at Balance Yoga Atlanta or if you don’t live in Atlanta find a studio near you on www.yogajournal.com, or check out www.yogaglo.com to stream online classes (Seane Corn and Kathyrn Budig are two on my favorite online teachers).
PPS. Join me April 24 at Be Yoga Marietta for a 14-Day Mind Body Detox. For more details and to register go HERE.