"Is yoga the only thing you do for your fitness?"
I get asked a lot about what I do to stay fit. What do I eat? What do I do for a workout? How often do I do those workouts? All my life, I've been a fitness girl and mostly hung out inside of gyms with other workout people. Starting a little yoga biz at "my age" seems to come with a few inquiries. I'm always happy to share. I just didn't really think people were interested. And while it's fine to talk about myself, I want to hear YOUR stories too. You all inspire me more than you know. First of all, let me say I'm not an expert on all things fitness, food or otherwise, but I do know lots of things and I've been practicing them for a long time. I'm happy to answer some of my more commonly asked questions. Maybe it starts a conversation or helps another find goodness. That's always good.
I think I'm most commonly asked "do you do more than yoga?" Yes, I do. I started lifting weights in college. I competed as a bodybuilder many years ago. I carried a lot more muscle on my frame than I do now, but maintaining muscle and strength is imperative for healthy metabolism, circulation, hormone balance, bone health and more. Plus, it just makes me feel good. As we age, we lose muscle. We can also lose joint mobility, balance ability, cognitive processes etc. Research shows resistive training keeps our bodies in a healthier muscle/fat composition and healthier brains. Yoga can be a form of resistive training as well, when we use our body weight in static strengthening postures. Core integration, control in our movements, transitions powerfully strengthen and energize our bodies. But, here's though, the really important part...the game changer...the real way we get results we want, It's all about our attitudes! When we change our self talk, when we get happy for the privilege it is to move our bodies, when we want to go the gym, the studio, for a run, our bodies get healthy too. Our bodies are a product of our thoughts and self talk! We need to "get our minds right!" (Shout out to Dan!) What we do for our workouts is one thing. What we say to ourselves, how we feel about it, effects GREATLY how our bodies respond to those workouts. This is key! Yoga helps us accept and love our whole selves. We can love our bodies as they are today while we work toward improvement. We are healthy when we integrate our bodies with our minds and practice positivity. If we begrudgingly show up for our personal trainer, for our bootcamp, for our yoga practice, we've sabotaged our intentions. I love lifting weights and hope to lift them in some form or another, always. I incorporate HIIT workouts throughout my week. I like to run sometimes. I move my body in a gym 4-5 days a week, mixing things up all the time keeping my body guessing and staving off plateaus in my fitness. On the other 2-3 days, I still move my body. I practice some form of yoga every day. Life happens and there are many weeks that absolutely fall short. But, I don't beat myself up over them. Anymore. I've learned to give myself grace and love and keep it positive. I read something beautiful every day. I know what fuels me in order to live my best life. Helping others live their best lives, fuels me too.
Thank you for reading. Let's practice happy this week!
yoga on willow🌿