It has been a good week. I managed to work out 3 times and I was pretty active on the days I elected not to work out. I have struggled with sharing something that I came to terms with due to wanting to avoid people thinking I have lost it. But, I am going to go out on a limb here and think that maybe I have some friends who have wondered the same thing and were curious. One of the types of workouts I have always enjoyed is Yoga. In certain circles, this is perfectly normal but in others it gains some raised eyebrows. I have been on somewhat of a spiritual journey for the past year or more (not related to the subject of Yoga). I deeply want to grow closer to God and figure out what He really thinks about this world and see what He sees in other people.
As I did my yoga video last Thursday, I was struck by some things. I suppose they were things I just flew over before but this time they landed and made me scrunch my face. Certain terms such as chakra, kundalini, the greeting of "Namus dei" meaning the god in me greets the god in you. Now, these things struck a cord in me and something made me feel weird about it. My Gran had warned me about a year ago on meditating on things that were not of God and I argued that this was not what was going on in Yoga. However, the ladies talked alot about "honoring yourself" and "setting your intention, and swallowing it down". Yoga appeared to me as a very self centered thing. After researching for a while I learned Yoga is a religious practice from the Hindu culture and is a common practice among Buddhists as a form of worship to their false gods. According to Swami Vishudevanadar, one of today's most influential yoga teachers hatha yoga (the type that we practice when exercising) "prescribes physical methods to begin … so that the student can manipulate the mind more easily as he advances, attaining communication with one's higher self."
After reading several sites on Yoga and its origins I had to ask myself if this was something I should participate in and I believe whole-heartedly the answer I was given was, no. I do not have enough room here to elaborate on what I found out about Yoga so feel free to google some topics related to Yoga and see what you come up with.
I shared this with one friend already who posed the question, "Sure but what if you are only doing it strictly for the health benefits?" To this I answered her as I already had answered myself. I told her that dabbling in things that are not of God will always lead to more. That is Satan's way of getting us to believe things are innocent when they are, in fact, very dangerous. On top of that there are other exercises that can bring the same benefits to your body that are not Yoga related. God will relieve my stress and committing to eat better and exercise will enhance my strength and physique. Yoga is not the only answer to achieving these things.
Following this enlightenment I had to throw away 6 of my 10 or so videos, due to the yoga practices included on them. Bummer. So, now I am back to looking for new videos to keep from boredom.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Getting started.
So, against all odds I have begun working out again. When starting I noticed a few things. I noticed that alot of my friends out there who have had children are trying to work out too. I am 5'9" tall and weigh 175 pounds. Before my kids, I weighed 145. After my first baby, Rush, I got down to 160. Then I had a second baby, Aurora, and weighed in at 180. I thought, "Great! Now what?" So, for a long time I fought exercising with all kinds of excuses (mostly the one about having two children to run after) and just sought to eat better. This did not help. For the record, I HATE exercising. I am a mother of two and I am tired, among other things.
One night, close to my 5th wedding annivesary my husband and I were talking about our marriage. We love being married to each other but in 5 years we have also discovered that marriage is not what we thought it would be. We were talking about things that were different from our expectations and I laid mine out for him and he got quiet upon his turn to talk. I prodded him to not be bashful and he blushed and in not so many wods he eluded to me and my lack of physical fitness. Now, before you judge him, let me defend him. Cody and I made a decision to take care of ourselves before we got married and stay fit. This goes back to unexpected expectations. We did not know the toll of having children and work put on us at the time of discussing this. In the past, when this came up I would become quite defensive and remind him that he asked for these two kids and sorry if I could not be what I used to be. Cody comes from a family that tells each other they have "gained a few" or "need to work out more" or "get active and eat better". This does not seem to offend any of them as it does me. You might as well say, "Hey, buddy, you're getting kind of fat and need to work out....alot." However, on this particular night it struck as the truth. I have always had alot of confidence in how I look. Cody has played a big part in that. Lately, I have not been that crazy about my body, though. I could not argue that I was a perfectly fine, fit mother and wife.
My mom-in-law was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Her dad, Cody's grandfather, has it too. My mom has been told she is borderline. My parents both have high blood pressure and both sides of our family struggle with their weight. These are some of the reasons other than my opinion of my naked body that I started working out again. I am happy to say I have worked out 2 days in a row and.....I am OUT of shape.
I started this blog to record some of my successes and maybe some of my disappointments. It will mostly deal with working out around my daily job of raising children, running a home, and keeping a happy husband (not happy based on my weight, that is)! I have thought to even share some articles that are realistic on how to do this. I will also share my favorite work outs, videos, and ideas and would love to hear yours.
One night, close to my 5th wedding annivesary my husband and I were talking about our marriage. We love being married to each other but in 5 years we have also discovered that marriage is not what we thought it would be. We were talking about things that were different from our expectations and I laid mine out for him and he got quiet upon his turn to talk. I prodded him to not be bashful and he blushed and in not so many wods he eluded to me and my lack of physical fitness. Now, before you judge him, let me defend him. Cody and I made a decision to take care of ourselves before we got married and stay fit. This goes back to unexpected expectations. We did not know the toll of having children and work put on us at the time of discussing this. In the past, when this came up I would become quite defensive and remind him that he asked for these two kids and sorry if I could not be what I used to be. Cody comes from a family that tells each other they have "gained a few" or "need to work out more" or "get active and eat better". This does not seem to offend any of them as it does me. You might as well say, "Hey, buddy, you're getting kind of fat and need to work out....alot." However, on this particular night it struck as the truth. I have always had alot of confidence in how I look. Cody has played a big part in that. Lately, I have not been that crazy about my body, though. I could not argue that I was a perfectly fine, fit mother and wife.
My mom-in-law was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Her dad, Cody's grandfather, has it too. My mom has been told she is borderline. My parents both have high blood pressure and both sides of our family struggle with their weight. These are some of the reasons other than my opinion of my naked body that I started working out again. I am happy to say I have worked out 2 days in a row and.....I am OUT of shape.
I started this blog to record some of my successes and maybe some of my disappointments. It will mostly deal with working out around my daily job of raising children, running a home, and keeping a happy husband (not happy based on my weight, that is)! I have thought to even share some articles that are realistic on how to do this. I will also share my favorite work outs, videos, and ideas and would love to hear yours.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)