Hello again!

I am busting at the seams excited to talk about this today because I feel AH-MAZING. It’s about my latest workout of choice: YOGA. If you would have told me 2 years ago that I would eventually fall in love with yoga, I would have thought you were crazy. At that time, I was a cardio junkie, doing intense cardio exercises 6 (or sometimes 7) days a week, thinking that was the way to stay fit & healthy. However, since starting my healing journey toward fixing my low thyroid issue (which you can read about here if you haven’t already), I have learned the beauty & healing power that comes with regular yoga practice & have said goodbye to the intense hardcore cardio that wreaked havoc on my body.

It was NOT an easy switch though. Not at all…

When people ask me what the hardest change was to implement when I started my healing journey, I think they always expect me to say “giving up gluten.” Although giving up the occasional BEER was the hardest part about cutting gluten out of my diet (oops…haha!), going gluten-free really wasn’t the biggest challenge for me. What was? Breaking my addiction to intense exercise.

So how did I do it? Well, for starters, it’s much easier to change something when you have a health professional explaining the scientific evidence that intense exercise makes things WORSE for people with thyroid issues. I knew that making the change was best for my health, but I still remember it being super hard to just WALK instead of run. Just like anything else though, it became easier with time, & my discovery of podcasts really helped me to enjoy the change & it soon became something that I looked forward to. Plus, I started to feel so much better, so that helped!

I was in a habit of doing workout videos in the morning & I really didn’t want to give that up, but knew I needed to make a switch from the high intensity workouts I had been doing. Luckily, my idol Chalene Johnson had just come out with a new, low-impact workout video program called PIYO.

If you haven’t heard of PIYO, check it out here. Chalene jokingly describes it as yoga for people with ADD, because she is someone that just does not like to sit still & always wants to be constantly moving when she works out! I totally connected with that, being a cardio junkie myself at the time, but I needed flexibility & a low impact workout, so this was the perfect fit! This workout really gave me the foundations of yoga & I started to feel the benefits of having more flexible (& stronger) muscles. This is a great workout to use to make that transition if you’re interested in trying yoga but still like a little more intensity (and sweat!) in your workouts.

Eventually, I started going to a yoga class here in my hometown once a week. There, I learned what true, authentic yoga practice was all about. Since I already had the foundations from PIYO, I felt pretty comfortable with it, but it was still a bit of an adjustment. The more I went, the more I loved it, & always felt so great after going to a class! I never thought I would say it, but I felt myself becoming a yogi (gasp!)

Then, a few weeks ago, my friend Robyn told me about this “30 Days of Yoga” challenge she found on YouTube & we decided to try it out together. The videos are only 15-30 minutes long, & for the last 22 days, I have been following the challenge & doing just 1 short yoga practice every day. And now I can do this:

WHAT?!?!?! I was shocked, but it’s amazing what just a little practice every day can do! I feel strong, flexible, powerful, connected to my body, & just plain fabulous…. and you can too! Start here for your 30 Days of Yoga challenge. The instructor’s name is Adriene & she’s great!! She makes it fun & light-hearted & just really enjoyable. I also love the convenience of being able to do yoga at home. We’ve had some awesome weather here lately, so I’ve been loving just taking my Ipad & yoga mat outside & practicing on the deck when it’s nice out!

I’ve gotten a few funny looks from my new neighbors… they’re probably wondering who the heck the new crazy yogi neighbor is, but oh well! It’s my thing now 😉

Hopefully this gives you a few ideas if you’re interested in dabbling in the yoga world or if you need help working your way into it! I’d love to hear about it if you end up trying PIYO or the 30 Days of Yoga!

Enjoy the journey! Namaste.

– Janeen