So this isn't a pitch for yoga, actually. This is about, however, about a personal yoga challenge I've given myself & the lessons I've learned in my first week that will absolutely improve my fat loss, my fitness, and my mindset. I want to share those lessons with you. So really, this is kind of like yoga for fat loss without having to go to yoga. Haha. I actually think yoga is a great thing for almost everyone, but my purpose in this series is to share with you lessons I'm learning in yoga that I believe can & should be applied to our food choices, our fitness, our mindset, relationships and life in general! http://primalpotential.com/235-yoga-for-fat-loss/ Yoga for Fat Loss, Fitness, Mindset & Crushing Life As I've recently shared on the podcast, after being diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and some stress-related health challenges, I'm making some changes in both my diet & lifestyle to help my body heal. One of those changes is yoga. I am not a yogi, I do not like group exercise, but I've taken on a legitimate mental, physical and logistical challenge: 45 yoga classes in 45 days. I'm not challenging you to do that - my journey is my journey - but I do want to share what I'm learning with you through this challenge. I'm not necessarily taking yoga for fat loss, but I think there are incredibly powerful parallels between what you learn in yoga and the skills you need to reach your fat loss, fitness and health goals. I'm doing it because I need to learn to slow down, to be more present, to breathe and to be gentle with my body, my mind and my heart. Leave it to me to take something like yoga and get all intense with it, haha. 45 90-minute hot yoga classes in 45 days...yeah Elizabeth, way to take it easy... Hey, gotta make it interesting, right? I'm a competitive person! I've walked out of every single class so far feeling like I've learned something beyond the mat, beyond the yoga pose, and I'm planning to share those lessons with you each week for the next 45 days. So, I'm one week into my yoga challenge and I've learned some good stuff! Stay on your mat At my first class, the instructor shared with the new people (I wasn't the only one) that the only goal of the first class is to stay on your mat. Don't quit and leave, don't leave the room for some cool air, just stay. It's okay to rest. It's okay to sit down or lay down, just say on your mat. See, it’s 105 degrees in this room and your moving your body in weird, challenging and uncomfortable ways. (In front of strangers! ) You aren’t weak if you want to quit. It’s not a sign that you’re a failure that you don’t feel like doing it. But that feeling doesn’t mean you need to leave. The desire to leave is just a desire. Don’t react. Just stay. How true is this in life & fat loss? It's okay to stop. It's okay to slow down. It's okay to rest. But don't leave. Don't drift. Don't let go of your goals. You can always rest, but don't walk away. Don't leave the pursuit. Stay on your mat. You WILL have times when you want to quit. But that doesn’t mean you need to justify ice cream or chips or cookies or alcohol. Just stay there. You’re on this journey. Don’t leave. Just wait.   The maximum benefit comes at your depth In Bikram yoga, which is what I’ve decided to do, there are 26 poses and, in my class, we do each pose two times. As we moved into a particular posture for the second time, the instructor quietly said, "Keep going. The maximum benefit comes at your depth" See, she didn't want us to stop when it got uncomfortable. She didn't want us to feel the discomfort and not go past it. The maximum benefit, the greatest growth, the fastest improvement comes when you go as far as you can. If she hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have looked for my depth in that pose. I would have just done what I felt like I could, held steady when it felt uncomfortable. But this cue from her, this comment, it sent me looking for my depth. For how far I could go. For how deep I could take it. For my