Moving Into Stillness - Loudly

Well this was a good week.

New Beginning: 177.8 lbs

Current Weight: 172.4 lbs

Loss this week: 5.4 lbs

So as you can see so far so good.  I stuck to my plan.  I went to Weight Watchers and started over.  Some of me resists the idea of going to those meetings.  My resistance stems from the sense of pride that I have deep within that rises to the surface when I sit in those meetings.  It's not a good pride, it's a bad pride.  The instructor, we'll call her Loony Loni, is a very sweet woman, but really is just well......loony. 

I have a really hard time taking instruction from her, because she isn't teaching me anything new and interesting.  The classes are all a repeat of what I already know about nutrition and the Weight Watchers program.  However, I really don't see instruction as the reason that I need to go to these meetings.  I believe that it's the routine of getting on that scale and seeing the numbers written down by someone else.  That part feels good or bad depending on how the week went, but overall it's probably the main reason I go.  I paid nine bucks for the meeting though, so I might as well stay for the whole meeting.  Loony Loni, just becomes light entertainment at this point, and I try to keep that pride tucked inside.  The pride I take in myself that I know the program better than she does......but I just won't say anything. 

Eating was fantastic this week.  I renewed my love affair with fruits and vegetables and I didn't go to bed hungry once this week.  Another really good discovery was that I enjoy the afternoon power nap.  Instead of eating I chose to nap and that really helped. 

The second part of my plan was to walk daily.  Now this part I slacked on a little.  I didn't walk my four mile trek on the treadmill daily.  However, I did make extra trips up and down stairs.  I walked to my piano lesson, walked to church, and parked farther away when I went shopping.  I did do some walking on the treadmill but not enough to be really significant.  That will change this week, because I don't want to lose any momentum.

The third portion of my plan was to learn Yoga.  I did some YouTube research and found that there are many directions you can go with the practice of Yoga.  A great many instructors, talk a lot during the session and focus mainly on the positions and the physical or Hatha Yoga.  As much as I want to learn Hatha Yoga, and strengthen my body, I want to focus more on the part of Yoga that takes my mind and transports it to a peaceful place.  I have a lot of anxiety and I really want Yoga to help me cope with that anxiety.  So I decided to buy a book to read about the more spiritual side of Yoga and I believe that I have found a most excellent book.  It's called Yoga, The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness by Erich Schiffmann. 

 This man seems to be a bit on the "kooky" side but he has a really good perspective and his ideals and philosophies coincide with my core beliefs and beliefs in the gospel.  Hence a good fit.  I am only half way through his book at this moment, but I can tell you it's a read that is really worth it.  I am finding new ways to focus and become more sensitive.  I haven't learned any Yoga poses so far, that comes a little later, but the meditation and breathing that is the basis of Yoga, I am learning and it's already making a difference.  So this week, I plan to continue reading my book and I plan to meditate daily.  Tough goal when I have three kids that never leave me alone, but they will have to learn to leave me alone. 

So here I go into my week two of a "old" new way of living.  I am currently moving into stillness, but loudly because I feel like I don't know what I am doing and I am moving very clumsily, but I know that things get better with practice.