Guest Author - Nancy Welker
One of the most common diet-busting habits is going overboard with snacking between meals. There are a good number of suggestions to getting around this problem, including adding more protein to your meals, and cutting back on refined sugar. But until you're able to simply say "no" to more food than you need, it's possible that you'll be going up and down on the weight roller coaster. This article talks about how Yoga can train your mind to stay focused on what you want to achieve and never get sidetracked.
How Does Yoga Help?
The most important point yoga stresses is discipline. In order to balance your life between physical exercise and mental exercise, you must first make a plan to achieve this and stay with that plan. Yoga is a simple modality, but nothing is easy when you first begin, so it takes dedication to learning to get the most out of your practice.
Your body needs to get in proper condition in order to achieve the asanas in the way that they're designed, and it will take time and effort to lengthen and strengthen your muscles. As in many other worthwhile projects you undertake, becoming a student of yogic teachings will require a commitment from you that you work to keep.
These same points can be made about choosing to change your eating habits and lose the excess weight. There will be times, especially early on, that you are tempted to give up, and it takes your own strength of willpower to push away the fattening foods you might have grown accustomed to having anytime you like. This also comes down to discipline, and literally re-educating your body when it comes to what type and how much food you consume.
Yoga can play a big part in getting a better understanding of yourself, and what you can do to mentally prepare for any cravings you may get that can sabotage your efforts to stay the course. Below is a list of some of the ways making yoga a part of your life, or adding more to your existing practice, can give you a decided edge when it comes to saying "no" to cheating on your diet:
1) From the moment you begin, use your mind throughout your entire Yoga routine. Visualize your arms reaching, your legs stretching, and your body glowing with health. Picturing yourself surrounded by a white or green light is very beneficial. Keep in mind that if you can maintain Plank Pose for two minutes, you can apply that strength of mind to avoiding the junk foods.
2) Hold the pose for a little longer than you did during the last session. Even adding ten or twenty seconds is helpful as you will not only be pushing past what you may think of as a "limit', you'll also be relying on your inner fortitude to keep your body in place.
3) Keep the image of you succeeding to reach your goals in your mind at the very end of your session, during Relaxation or Corpse Pose. This time is perfect for creating a winning spirit within yourself that is full of positive energy. Have fun with this. Imagine yourself jumping for joy, leap-frogging over others who are also happy and healthy, and reaching up for the sun with a radiant smile on your face.
Remember that you're a winner as soon as you start to tackle any health issue, including weight management. You can conquer this. Believe it!
Links to Leg Raises, Plank Pose and Warrior I Pose, all of which can be used to work on increasing your time maintaining the position and increasing your willpower, are listed below.
