Almost * All Things in Moderation

Before I begin, let me register a few disclaimers: first, I'm not a personal trainer, dietician, doctor or physical therapist. I am a certified yoga teacher, but that doesn't make me a fitness expert. Second, I'm not trying to sell you anything or ask you to sell or buy anything, and I get nothing of personal gain out of this post....I do get paid by the Orrville Y as a fitness instructor, but I don't get paid by the student, and the Y has not endorsed my post, nor is it meant to be an advertisement for the Y. This is simply my personal story about weight, health, yoga, and the like. Read on, keeping in mind all that I have said.

I am not a gifted athlete...not by a long stretch. I never had a desire to be an athlete, and I will confess to having actual disdain for cheerleaders (sorry to say, but there it is). In high school I was a band, choir, thespian geek and really wanted no part of anything else. When I went off to college, I learned about this idea of the Renaissance man (there weren't really Renaissance women, because well, women weren't allowed to do much). I also learned about the term "polymath" which means someone gifted in many areas...we would call that person today a "jack/jill of all trades". Both these concepts intrigued me as they hearkened back to the Greek ideal that the perfect person (again, "man", sigh) is someone of intellectual as well as oratorical, musical, rhetorical, and yes, physical gifts. In large part, this is also an embracing of the Asian ideal of the Renaissance man, or in Japanese culture, the bushi, or knight. In Japanese culture, this is a samurai who is above being just a warrior but is a man of artistic temperament who can also embrace the beautiful and simple in life including the tea ceremony. All of these ideals go to the larger point of being a well-rounded person, meaning someone who is not just an athlete, or not just a musician, or not just an intellect, but someone who embraces each aspect of the mind, body and spiritual ideal.

So, all these ideas encouraged me over time that I needed to embrace that part of my being that was kind of left out of the equation: my physical self. My voyage of discovery in this regard began with my first foray into yoga twenty years ago. I was doing yoga before it was the popular exercise form that it has now become, and I am here to attest that you don't have to have a background in cheerleading and gymnastics to try and engage in the practice of yoga. Someone at my swimming class today commented on how athletic and flexible I was. This was a WOWZA moment for me because I still don't see myself that way, but it was flattering to hear it. Being that I still believe yoga is very much a practice, I still see myself as coming to my mat each yoga practice trying to improve my mind, body and spirit. Yoga has enabled me to explore that physical connection to my mind and spirit I didn't really know was there, and has given me confidence that I can do things with my body I would never have thought possible.

Some students have asked me what I have done to keep fit and to stay healthy. I will tell you that about two years ago I had a very serious battle with pneumonia that inspired me to think carefully about how I was taking care of myself and the amount of rest I was getting versus work, exercise and the like. I have taken a conscious step, since that illness, to commit to making time to work out and eat healthy. That illness and the physical toll it took on my body saw me gain about 40 lbs I really didn't want. I don't believe in diets or special drinks to lose weight. My personal belief is that you have to learn to live with food and have a healthy relationship with it to keep weight off in the long run. Furthermore, I have always eaten fairly healthy. I don't eat much meat, I eat a decent amount of fish; I eat lots of fruits and veggies and a variety of them to boot; and, I don't drink soda, or eat fried or junky food. I do know that I have a genetic tendency toward heart diseases and diabetes so I am careful.

To take those 40 lbs off, I took these simple steps:

1. Fit bit: I bought myself a fit bit and have a corresponding app on my phone. It records the number of steps I take and the numbers of hours I sleep, as well as my heart rate.

2. Lose It Phone App: I have a calorie counter/exercise counter app on my phone that I use to record my calories and my weight. The importance of this step is accountability. We can tell ourselves all kinds of lies about how much we ate and when, or we even honestly forget. This app helps me to see how much a beer costs me in calories. It keeps track of my weight and tells me how many days until I reach my goal. I also get weighed everyday...yes everyday. I have a ceiling of 5 lbs. If I get on the scale and I start to see my weight creep up, I really cut back. This is important so your weight doesn't get too far ahead of you.

3. Exercise: I either exercise every day, or I try and walk my 12000 steps. Yes, everyday you need to do something! Sometimes I do more than one thing in a day, but you must carve out time to care for yourself. I know all too well that if you don't have your health, everything else pales in comparison. BUT don't overdo it! Do something you love and which you can do everyday without killing yourself! If you make it too hard, you won't keep up with it, so keep in mind what you love and find that thing and then do it as a routine!

4. Food...all things in Moderation. I don't believe in fake food. I don't eat anything that isn't real food. Grass fed meat, grass fed dairy, almond milk, beans, whole grains, small quantities of alcohol (no more than one drink a day!) I also cook pretty much darn near everything from scratch. I bake my own bread every week (two loaves of sourdough bread), and don't have really any canned or frozen food (besides some veggies, fruit and meat) in my freezer. Yes, this takes time, but again, this is about your health, right?

Also, I will say that for me, I try and avoid ANY medication. I used to have to take prilosec for heartburn. After a battle of the side effects of getting off prilosec (it has a rebound effect when you go off it), I am happy to report I am medication free (I was never on any prescription medication...just OTC heartburn and allergy meds), and only rarely do I have to take an OTC allergy med. This is just my personal goal, and is in no way an instruction to everyone to get off medication, but what I do know about medication from my dad's experience with it, is that every medication has a side effect and an impact on some other part of your body. EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. So, for me, I want to avoid/prolong that issue as long as I possibly can.

I am always working toward a goal. I may never achieve it but I always have it insight. Just like yoga, the process of getting healthy and staying healthy is a practice. My big motto about life in general is to do things in Moderation, not in excess. It's hard for all of us not to swing like a pendulum from one extreme to another. Trying to stay at an even keel is hard, but in the long run, it is better for your mind, body and spirit not to bounce from one end to the other.

I hope this was helpful for those of you, like me, for whom fitness and athleticism are not a natural gift. I hope this inspires you that if you get out there and try something, you will be surprised at what you can accomplish!

Namaste!