By now, the stereotypical image of the modern day yogini is pretty well established. Our fair heroine has youthful skin, bright eyes, taut biceps, and a narrow waist. She drinks green juices, stands on her hands, and wears brightly colored leggings. In a given yoga session, she is just as likely to tie herself in knots as she is to recline in wickedly comfy restful positions. She knows how to banish workplace angst and boost wellbeing.
All in all, she’s pretty rad. She is a modern day, stress fighting super hero whom we like to idolize (and who on our grouchy days, we might resent). Some might like to be her and others might like to be with her. Truthful or not, marketing and observation are conspiring to tell us that the magical world of yoga is making hordes of people calm and the world over, so…dare we ask…might it do the same for us?
CAN YOGA MAKE A “NEW YOU?”
Yoga is a fascinating hybrid in the health and wellness world. It is part exercise, part philosophy, part relaxation method, part world view. More than anything, yoga is a framework for living that addresses physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. It touches on – and has the power to change – how we live, love, work, sleep, eat, interact, and even think.
When viewed in that light, all of a sudden we notice that the physical benefits so often sought from modern day exercise (improved strength, boosted cardiovascular health, weight loss, etc.) occupy only one small sliver of the yoga pie. Can we collect these sought-after morsels of wellbeing, tangible evidence of a commitment to ourselves, from the practice of yoga? Yes, we can. But if we come to class expecting the same calorie burn as we might from long sessions pounding out miles on a treadmill, and find ourselves growing irritated when the teacher slows the pace down, we’re likely to be disappointed.
After all, the goal of a yoga
class is not to get us ripped, thin, and sweaty (although it might do that in
the process). Rather, the goal is to teach us to feel our way
into all sorts of shapes, moments, and breathing practices that re-awaken us to
the whole picture of ourselves inside and out. A huge part of yoga is the act of coming into
greater relationship with yourself and clearly seeing all elements of you (even
those parts, in fact especially those parts, it might be easier to turn away
from). Body image, self-acceptance, and
self-love are high on that list for many of us.
The sooner we realize that yoga won’t turn us into someone else, the
happier we’ll be, perhaps even happier than our preconceived notion of the
glowing heroine.
MIND/BODY/WEIGHT LOSS CONNECTION
Enter the notion of yoga for weight loss. I like to think of this possibility – as it is indeed possible – as a by-product of the practice, rather than a goal. Many of us carrying extra weight we’re eager to shed find ourselves in that boat because weight gain is one of our adaptive responses to stress. Habits form, cravings develop, and metabolism responds. Perhaps we’re not sleeping optimally, blood pressure is high, depression/anxiety levels are peaked, or work/life balance is wildly askew. There is unfortunately no shortage of precipitating factors in today’s overcooked and fast-paced world that lead us to pack on extra weight.
The oft echoed and well documented mantra of Diet and exercise! prompts us to believe that sweating off the pounds and watching what we eat will dial us back down to a number on the scale we'll be happy with. Sometimes it wil, but it frequently won’t, and the reason why might surprise you.
REST MORE, SWEAT LESS
It turns out that restorative yoga, far more than sweaty, vigorous Vinyasa holds the key to weight loss. Scientific evidence linking stress levels to weight gain is now so vast that we’ve learned to start paying a little less attention to fad diets and sit ups and a little more attention to calming and caring for the nervous system. Restorative yoga does precisely that, not by revving up our engines, but rather by slowing them down. When we operate from a balanced, calm perspective in our mind and body, our sleep improves, our energy levels shift, and our cravings begin to wane. Our relationships to food, people, and experiences change. Just as weight gain is often an adaptive response to stress, weight loss can be an adaptive response to ease. Now that's a reason to do yoga!
Kate Tripp is a yoga teacher, writer, mother, and co-founder of Luma Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio for adults and children in Santa Cruz, CA. She shares her wisdom and experience on the Three Minute Egg blog with weekly, inspirational, yoga-related blog posts. Read Kate's full bio here.