Yoga awakens your purpose

As I posted the other day, I'm reading "A New Earth: Awakening to your life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle. I'm about halfway through the book - every time I open it, I am more impressed and in awe of what I'm learning. Thank you so much Oprah for opening the world's eyes to this powerful novel.

On page 159 in chapter five, I found this statement:

"Spiritual practices that involve the physical body, such as t'ai chi, qigong, and yoga are also increasingly being embraced in the Western world. These practices do not create a separation between body and spirit and are helpful in weakening the pain-body. They will play an important role in the global awakening."

Not that I need validation in writing for myself because I've experienced the power of yoga firsthand: it helped me out of depression, out of chronic pain and back into living. However, it feels so wonderful to see this statement in such a widely read book - over 700,000 people world wide participated in Oprah's first online class on March 3 to discuss the book with Oprah and its author. If you haven't heard about this huge opportunity, go to www.oprah.com to learn more.

When people ask me why I practice, I say this:

"Practicing yoga is my daily prescription for living my best life."

If you have a full medicine cabinet or just need a new direction in your life, I highly suggest trying yoga. It may not resonate the first time you do it or even the tenth, and you don't have to invest a whole hour or 90 minutes. Just try five or 10 minutes. It's more about quantity versus quality; the more frequently you do it, the more you will feel and see its affects on you mentally, spiritually and physically. Trust me, I wasn't a believer myself when I first tried it out, but when I truly needed it, it was and is my salvation.

If you've never tried yoga before and are looking for a place to begin, try Hillary's Podcast #54 - Shift Your Attitude - All Level Yoga Practice - 15 Min Chair Yoga Check In. She has photos and a podcast (it's located at the end of the above page, but here's the direct link as well) to guide you through a practice you can do completely in your chair - how cool is that!

Can you feel the power?

If you enjoy practicing power-vinyasa style yoga, Baron Baptiste is an instructor I highly recommend (Probably not so great for preggers though, especially if you weren't practicing this style before pregnancy.). I'm a big fan of his CDs, DVDs and books (check out lists on the left side of my blog).

Within the archives of Hay House radio online, I saw Baptiste was one of the featured guests on Power Thoughts, episode "Make things happen." It does require a a subscription, but it's free. Baron Baptiste is the first interview of the show and speaks of the benefits of yoga.

Below is a video I found on YouTube about Baptiste as well.

What did that scale say?

Stepping on the scale today at my last monthly midwife's appointment (Next time is in two weeks!) brought up fear coupled with curiosity. I knew I must have gained a decent amount since the last appointment. Lately, I've definitely been eating for two, or three, or maybe even four some days ... and I gained about seven or eight pounds since the last weigh in. OMG! I don't want to be all hung up on a number, but at the same time I don't want it to be terribly difficult to get back to my fighting weight after baby.

Before the scale revealed my fate, I really thought I would land within the 25 -30 pounds recommended gain. Now it looks as though I'm not giving myself too much room to play with, only having 10 weeks (or less) left. I believe I've read pregnant women gain about a pound every week within the third trimester. If that's the case, I will probably pack on about 30-35 pounds total, depending on what starting weight I select. (Seems like I gained a few pounds before I actually made it into the doctor's office at eight weeks, but if I start at the doctor's beginning point, I'm better off - hee hee!).

I brought this up to a few women at my corporate job today, and they thought I was crazy... guess I won't worry about it then. But maybe I'll take my sister-in-law's midwife's advice when she was pregnant, and I believe about the same amount along...

"More salads, less burgers."
(My down fall has been cheese dip - I could never resist!)

Guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy should be revised