MEDITATION #23

Well I missed another stinkin' class. I got caught up at work until 6 pm and didn't have enough time to make it for the 6:30 class. And since there is no late class on Fridays I was SOL. Damn. This is the first week that I've missed 3 classes since I started this yoga journey. I don't like missing that many. Maybe I will do a double tomorrow to make it up because I *really* don't want to fall below 5 classes a week unless I'm either sick or on vacation. Six is the goal, five is passable now and then, but four just isn't enough while I'm in weight loss mode.

I think it is Susan Powter that says that you need to do an aerobic activity a minimum of 3x per week just to maintain. 4-5x per week will increase your metabolism. But 6x a week provides triple the fat burning benefits. Hence six is the magic number. I really enjoyed her book, "The Politics of Stupid" - btw. She has a lot of excellent insights about what it takes to replace over-fat and unfit with slim, healthy, and vibrant. I highly reccomend checking her out. I find her to be very motivational and real life.

On the bright side, I weighed myself this morning and I am actually down a half pound from a couple days ago. How the heck did that happen!?!! I feel like I've been on a little bit of a bender when it comes to eating lately. I've indulged in dairy a couple of times, I've been eating too much sugar and caffeine, I've been eating too late in the day, and I've been eating too large a quantity of food in one sitting. How, then, did I not gain? Is it that my body actually needs more calories due to my increase in activity? Or is my metabolism revved up so that I burn more calories or at least burn my food more efficiently? I do have to say that I'm eating far less than I did before starting on this path. The amount of food I got at Cafe Taj Mahal last night used to be 2 meals for me. Now I am able to stretch it to 4 and still feel like I'm eating a large quantity. Anyway, I am thrilled that I didn't go up. Hopefully I will be down again tomorrow.

Today's meditation introduces the second yama of satya or truth. I actually have a friend named, Satya, and I never realized what the word meant. Quite lovely, actually. Gates says that at first we will begin to practice satya from the outside in. He tells us that, "Little by little we notice and then drop our habits of embellishment, obfuscation, minimization, self-aggrandizement, omission, rationalization, and exaggeration." Oh really - is that all? This is a giant bugaboo for me. I hate to admit that I'm prone to every single one of these habits at times. But I guess that's the point. We all are. I need to replace my initial resistance with a willingness to be aware of these behaviors. And next a willingness to let each one go. Gates also says that eventually, once we get the hang of practicing the truth, then we will actually begin to live satya from the inside out. Oh, to see that day.


Today's Weight: 215.5


Today's Food Choices:
cafe mocha w/ soy milk
chocolate filled glazd doughnut
fruit salad - pineapple, melon, & grapes
(9 am - The Patisserie)
2 small bags of popcorn
12 pm - at the consumer fair I was working)
tostada salad w/ crispy fried tostada shell
beans, lettuce, rice, grilled peppers & onions, salsa
(2 pm - Just Tacoes)
vegetable briyani
vegetable curry
naan bread
(8 pm - leftovers @ home)