Exactly a decade ago, on a lovely Sunday morning, along with my Dad and siblings, I went on a long drive along the countryside near my hometown. I was practicing my driving skills, my dad patiently sitting in the front seat, giving me instructions. My sister and brother had tightly leashed themselves in the passenger seat, in case I do something funny with the car. I was this lanky 37 Kg girl, nervous and excited about joining my first job a month later.
I laughed really hard when my sister sent me this picture few weeks back. It brought back a flood of memories. Beautiful memories of a young girl trying to find a place in the world, memories of insecurities too. This picture was taken that day. We had packed a picnic and were enjoying an awesome brunch on the side of the road, between acres of lush green rice fields.
I have come a long way since then. Not just in life, but health wise too. There’s no battle of the Weights anymore. And I have realised that gaining weight isn’t a bad thing after all.
Weight is just a number
I am a good 20 kg heavier now, and much more stronger than before. In fact, my weight keeps fluctuating from 56 to 58. Most days I wake up weighing 56 kg. If I workout well, I remain the same till the end of the day. On days I eat a cooker full of carbs, I sleep weighing at least 58 kg :). On days I go on long hikes and coastal walks, my weight drops to 55 kg. Like food and workouts, I have been keeping a track of my weight too. And frankly all the fluctuations confuses me.
Although, it did further strengthened my believe that weight is only a number and it cannot truly determine the fitness level of a person.
Contrary to popular belief, practicing Yoga didn’t make me to lose weight or anything of that sort. It wasn’t my goal either.
But, Yoga helped me to strengthen my body. Made my core stronger. Toned muscles and helped me do things that I thought were an impossibility for me.
And most important of all – it made me happy.
I love inversions. They challenge me to move out of my comfort zone and try something very strange, weird and exciting. Yeah, Yoga poses do look weird and sound even more weird when you try explaining them to someone else. Imagine a conversation that goes-
“How is your yoga going?”
“Not too bad. I was trying the grasshopper pose, but could hardly get my feet on the triceps!”
The look I got was priceless. 😛
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I made some improvements in Forearm Balance last week. This pose needs to be balanced with straight legs and parallel arms. I got the former, but latter still needs practice.
10 years ago, or even 2, I would have never dreamt of achieving it 🙂
Related post : How I learnt to do Yoga Arm Balances
I practice yoga regularly, especially for stretching after a run or workout, Rajlakshmi! However, I am still not able to do a handstand. You definitely have balance at your side. 😉
Thank you so much. It took me a long to get here… Hope someday I can move away from the wall 😁
I shall try to do those posture this week for my yoga practice. I am on a mission to cut slab due to the high cholesterol but yeah regular yoga practice has helped me to become more fit and stable mentally. An inspiring post to kick off my Monday in style.
Thank you so much Vishal. How did it go? Did you try them 😁