Lili's Diary

Ha! Blancita, flirting is such fun. You go girl!
Hi Trusylver, welcome and one of these days I'm going to get around to seeing your diary too :)

Breakfast; Bran flakes, milk, medium apple
Lunch; 10 almonds, raspberrry yogurt muffin, 1 cup beef barley soup
Snack; 1 cup mixed fresh fruit, 2 slices cheese, 2 small sticks pepperoni
Supper; falafel pita sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pineapple, feta and hot peppers.

Walked to work and home, 6 Km and went to my Ashtanga yoga class which is 75 minutes long. It was so excellent. It's not as brutal as Bikram because the room temperature is normal. But it's still a real endurance-based and quick style of yoga and I worked up a sweat. I was rolling around a few times, unable to do some moves, which gave me the giggles. You use every single part of your body ... wow, it's cool.
My mom came but wasn't able to do much of it because it's too strenuous. She said she won't do this class and will stick to her gym and aquasize classes. But she's always open to new experiences and it was fun to grab a sandwich after and look at her holiday photos.
I was exhausted after class, just came out of a bath with Epsom salts and now am going to have a very good sleep!!
 
There are people who do a lot of yoga who get in incredibly good shape, as if they are lifting weights, so I'm looking forward to hearing the results of this intensive yoga program. Cool :cool:!
 
Quote for the day

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented
and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our light shine; we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
...Marianne Williamson

my friend sent me that the other day...I like it.
 
Yoga Weight Loss and You
By Anne Van de Water

Yoga is an ancient art and science, which can help you lose weight and feel great. The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit language and means "to join" or "to yoke". In essence, yoga is connecting our individual self, including our body, mind and heart with our universal self, or spirit. In yoga, we practice uniting our body with our mind and heart, our mind and heart with our spirit. In my understanding, yoga was developed by mystics over 5,000 years ago. These wise beings would go into meditation to connect with the peace of their spirit, but found it challenging to sit still due to physical aches and pains and mental chatter and unrest within them. They would open their eyes and see the beauty and tranquility of nature all around them and realize that the trees were not complaining about their aching trunks and the mountain was not stressed out about the storm rolling in. So, the mystics began to imitate nature so that they too could be like nature and return to their true nature of contentedness and sit in the stillness at peace with simply being themselves.

The practice of yoga makes the body strong and flexible and helps to improve the overall function of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory and hormonal systems. Yoga assists us in releasing mental stress bringing clarity and peace of mind. Yoga opens a door into your heart and helps you to practice self-love and self-acceptance so that you become emotionally stable. But this only the beginning of a life-long journey towards your core, the realization of your true, essential self, the ultimate aim of yoga. Yoga has helped me to lose a substantial amount of weight. In my experience, when you remember who you are and align yourself with what is truly important to you, you will return to your true nature of health and happiness and your body will return to it's perfect weight.

I once read a wonderful article about Muriel Hemingway who is a yoga enthusiast. She said, "Yoga doesn't give you the body you want, it gives you the body you were meant to have." Yoga will help you to achieve your perfect weight, not necessarily the media's perception of the ideal weight or shape. Through regular practice you will create the body that supports you in being and expressing who you truly are. Yoga asanas, or postures strengthen and stretch your muscles toning the whole body. They also help to tone every tissue, ligament, joint and nerve. Yoga helps to align and correct the posture so that you move with confidence and grace. The regular practice of stretching, twisting, bending and inverting the body squeezes the internal organs, cleansing the body of impurities including the build-up of excess fat. Yoga asanas increase the circulation of fresh blood and oxygen through the body, ridding it of toxins and diseases, which accumulate due to improper, eating habits, lack of exercise and poor posture. The various postures help to improve digestion and strengthen the elimination systems, so that the (hopefully healthy and nutritious) food you eat moves easily through your body. Yoga jump-starts the metabolism, improves the functioning of the lymphatic system and harmonizes the natural flow of hormonal secretion. The overall result is chemical balance in the body.

One of the greatest benefits of yoga is the oxygenation of all the cells due to deep, conscious, diaphragmatic breathing. The yogis, or practitioners of yoga teach us that vital life-force energy, or prana travels within our breath. When we direct the breath into different places within our body, tension is transformed by the prana into fluid, flowing energy. With each exhale we are releasing what we no longer need. Each inhale we breath in fresh new energy. Excess fat in this respect could be perceived as stagnant energy (what we don't want) and consciously directing the breath into those old storehouses of accumulated energy helps to clear the unwanted fat. Yoga is a means through which you ultimately tune into your body's own wisdom. When you get to know your body and listen to its innate intelligence, you will hopefully begin to follow its guidance. You will practice yoga in a way that serves you on that particular day. You will eat food that nourishes and energizes your body. Yoga helps you come back into alignment with your body and your body transforms into a vehicle through which you experience the health and well being that is your true nature. The great yogi Iyengar teaches us that, "the body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in."

Gautama Buddha said, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world." So, the question is, what reality are you creating for yourself with your thoughts? Have you ever heard the expression "we are molded by our environment"? Our thoughts are the internal environment that we live in. Notice how your thoughts have molded your body. Are you constantly telling yourself that you're fat and that losing weight is a hopeless battle? Or are you telling yourself that you are beautiful and that you're on an inspiring journey towards living life at your perfect weight? What you think about yourself and the messages you're constantly giving yourself are vitally important in the process of losing weight.

From the yogic perspective, our minds are intimately connected with our bodies. The mind can be seen as a monkey wildly swinging from branch to branch and thought to thought, oftentimes completely unconsciously. Yoga is a means to calm the crazy swinging of the mind so that the mind returns back to it's resting place of calm focus. In this state it is possible to live life in awareness, with clarity and confidence. We have been given an amazing gift to help us balance and harmonize our minds. You are doing it right now. You are breathing. Most of the time we breathe unconsciously. In yoga we breathe with total awareness, absorbed in the present moment. The yogis say that the breath is the master of the mind. Without oxygen the brain will shut down. In truth, the mind cannot think without the breath. When the breath is slow, deep and smooth, the mind slows down and we become deeply rooted in ourselves, our true nature of present, open, wakefulness. Then we can make decisions about how we move and eat and interact from a place of connectedness with ourselves, fully conscious of what is truly right for us in the moment.

The heart of yoga is your spiritual heart, the dwelling place of love, compassion and acceptance. When you return back to your spiritual center, you will be at the "heart of the matter" of weight loss. The role of our heart is to integrate and balance the different parts of who we are into a radiant sense of wholeness. Within this union of body, mind, heart and spirit one finds true self-love and self-respect. When our hearts are open in deep compassion for ourselves in the often times challenging process of losing weight, we find a love that is eternal and constant. There's a wonderful saying, that, "Love is the expression of the willingness to allow something to change." When you love yourself you create a space in which transformation can happen. Self-love allows change and freedom, but keeps you deeply connected to that which never changes, your spirit, your essence.

A big part of self-love is changing and/or letting go of those things that no longer serve you. Self-respect is loving yourself enough to not keep excess baggage in your life that is weighing you down. Excess weight is very connected to excess baggage in all respects: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Losing weight is not just about doing some physical exercise and eating right. It is a process of deeply looking at your life, your work, your relationships, your internal and external environments and clearly seeing if these things are weighing you down or uplifting and fulfilling you. Yoga is a way to find out how you are buffering or protecting yourself from your own life. It's inner conflict resolution. So, yoga and losing weight take great courage. It is an internal and external process. The yogis teach us that our bodies remember everything that has ever happened to us, that our biology is our biography. In yoga, you face yourself and you face your life. One of my students told me, "I don't need therapy, I practice yoga." Yoga helps you get clear about who you are, what doesn't work, what does work and gives you the tools to remember your true nature of self-love, respect and acceptance, the keys to losing weight.

With great faith in your self and confidence in your spirit's vision to be healthy, you will lose weight. Keep moving and keep breathing and you will be renewed and what is not needed will be dissolved and renewed again. Yoga reminds you that you know who you are and you know how to take care of yourself. The answers are within you, waiting for you to look inside.
 
Interesting article :)

Yoga reminds you that you know who you are and you know how to take care of yourself. The answers are within you, waiting for you to look inside.

Yoga reminded m e that I'm an absolute klutz with no skill and agility to be able to do anything - it made me feel completely inferior and absolutely moronic...
 
There are people who do a lot of yoga who get in incredibly good shape, as if they are lifting weights, so I'm looking forward to hearing the results of this intensive yoga program. Cool :cool:!

My brother's wife, who is a dead ringer for Jenna Elfman (darhma of darma and greg) is a part time yoga instructor and she got my super jock brother to start taking some classes - He's 40 years old and plays in a soccer league and he says that it's really helped with his soccer playing and his agility and endurance... I still can't get past the first 5 minutes of the class :D
 
AHHH Love the avatar and the fantastic smile you have, it just made me smile the minute I looked at it. :) I'm so happy your trying this yoga class, I LOVE YOGA! I feel so incredibly centered when I take my class at the gym, I'm so much more flexible today than I have been in years, and my body just feels stronger. I think yoga is great for everyone no matter age or gender. We have several men in our class and I believe all but one is over the age of 50. We do have one little HOTTIE in the class he's probably all of 22 if that, but good eye candy. LOL LOL Hey, how's the job going?? have things slowed down a little there? How are the boys? are they enjoying their summer?? Are they taking college classes or just diving into work this year? I know I'm getting nosy what's new. Well, I'm off to read up on some more diary's and then get busy here at work, after all that's really what I need to be doing right now. Keep smiling, and great job on the menu lately, your doing FAB!!!!!
Have a good rest of your day!!!:jump:
Kim
 
Interesting article :)Yoga reminded m e that I'm an absolute klutz with no skill and agility to be able to do anything - it made me feel completely inferior and absolutely moronic...
EXACTLY how I felt last night, until I reminded myself even my klutz-like falling onto the floor out of poses, is an opportunity for me to love rather than judge my self. I love my moronic klutzy self! It's very freeing. LOL
AHHH Love the avatar and the fantastic smile you have, it just made me smile the minute I looked at it. :) I'm so happy your trying this yoga class, I LOVE YOGA! I feel so incredibly centered when I take my class at the gym, I'm so much more flexible today than I have been in years, and my body just feels stronger. I think yoga is great for everyone no matter age or gender. We have several men in our class and I believe all but one is over the age of 50. We do have one little HOTTIE in the class he's probably all of 22 if that, but good eye candy. LOL LOL Hey, how's the job going?? have things slowed down a little there? How are the boys? are they enjoying their summer?? Are they taking college classes or just diving into work this year? I know I'm getting nosy what's new. Well, I'm off to read up on some more diary's and then get busy here at work, after all that's really what I need to be doing right now. Keep smiling, and great job on the menu lately, your doing FAB!!!!!
Have a good rest of your day!!!:jump: Kim
Hi Kim! I'm not the most patient person in the world so Yoga will teach me that. It's cool to hear you've been doing it for years. My sons are both working full time, one apprenticing for journeyman carpentry and the other works at a lumber yard Co-op store, driving a forklift. They are loving their summer and we're all looking forward to a trip to the Okanagon in three weeks. I'm really sick of talking about my job, so I'm not going to. LOL Do you have plans for a getaway this summer?
My brother's wife, who is a dead ringer for Jenna Elfman (darhma of darma and greg) is a part time yoga instructor and she got my super jock brother to start taking some classes - He's 40 years old and plays in a soccer league and he says that it's really helped with his soccer playing and his agility and endurance... I still can't get past the first 5 minutes of the class :D
I'm just deciding to show up and do my best. There are some women who are in SUPER shape and can do amazing poses, but they've been doing it for years and I will not be looking at them, I'll be focusing on my drishti ... lol, that is, my gaze. :rotflmao:
 
My brother's wife, who is a dead ringer for Jenna Elfman

Is that Mr. Danny Elfman's daughter par chance?

Hi there!
Nice avatar!
I used to do yoga. When I became a better runner, I heard it ain't so great--you need some tension to run and looseness could pose a problem, according to this book I'm reading. Interstingly enough my mom and I both, when we started running more, stopped doing yoga without even thinking about it. This is weird, but we're still both flexible. I don't know if it's BAD to not do yoga anymore but I stretch. Either way, I would do it if I didn't run so much, and I know running is going to be good for maintining my weight and for my heart & stress. Also for my peace of mind. But I'm pro-yoga ultimately. But hey, if it makes you feel like a klutz, different strokes!

Babbling, sorry. Hope your family is doing well!
 
What do the yogis say about doing it every night? Why is that necessary? Not doubting you, just curious. I'm sure it'll give some great results.
 
Wow, tonight's class I could tell I'm improving. I was sweating buckets. Blancita, you can go to yoga once/week or every day, doesn't matter, but if you go 6 Xs week, you will definitely notice improvement faster, like anything I guess. The instructor told me the bodies of women/men who come every day change drastically and I've read that on the internet also. The reason I want to go every day is for stress relief. After only going for 2 days I really notice the stress relief already, in my breathing throughout the day. I want to get addicted to this.

Breakfast; Oatmeal porridge 260, medium apple 80
Lunch; Chicken salad sandwich 300, 10 almonds 70, granola bar 160
Snack; 2 cups lettuce 13, 10 baby carrots 43, OJ 227
Supper; 5 oz. meatloaf 300, baked potato 130
Dessert; popsicle 70

Walked to work and 75 minutes of Ashtanga Yoga! Whoo hoo. Have a nice night every one.
 
"Yoga doesn't give you the body you want, it gives you the body you were meant to have."

I love this. I agree, in lots of ways but I'm too tired to go into it, and also I blabber enough. Anna take a before picture RIGHT NOW! A skimpy one too, and then take one at the end of this month, I'm not trying to weasel a pic out of you I promise, but I think that if I were applying myself to yoga the way you are, I'd expect amazing changes, I think it would be so cool to see the differences!
 
Ah, I've tried a ga-zillion times to upload so many pics, but it always gives me a message that says "Your file of 111.0 KB bytes exceeds the forum's limit of 100.0 KB for this filetype". I don't know how to make my pics a different size to upload them. Also, I can't see whether it works until I actually hit Submit Reply...lol...so here goes:

This is me at 150 pounds. I have this sinking feeling when I hit Submit Reply my pic is going to barely show up because like I say, I don't know how to shrink these pics to get them accepted on this system. I may have shrunk this one beyond belief so you might need a magnifying glass. LOL
 
arg i cant see it ... :(

If you convert it to a file format like jpg it will be a large picture but smaller size.
If thats to much email it to me large and ill do it :)

As for yoga - well it makes you stronger a little, and perhaps more co-ordinated. But for me its a waste of time - it burns few calories or fat and i get all pissy that i could have burnt 10 times that amount on a bike or running (not to mention NOT falling over! lol)
 
Yep, that pic's too small. Oh well. If anyone can give me some pointers on shrinking photos to 100 KB and what software program to do that in, feel free. :doh: I'm a techno-peasant.

Well, it's 2:30 am and it's too hot to sleep. Supposed to be 100 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow. So I'm going to blather on in my diary. Alert. Alert. No one feel obliged to read this. It's just me keeping track of the thoughts that occur in the wee hours of the morning when I should be :sleeping:

I'm memorizing a film monologue for a workshop our director is putting on this Sunday. She asked we all pick lines from a character who is nothing like our character we're playing. So I chose Emma's lines from Terms of Endearment when she's dying and telling her teenage son she knows he loves her and not to feel guilty if he realizes that later on. Our director is putting on 4 workshops and they're free so YES. :)

Filming is the weekend of August 25th on location at a very cool museum, a tiny replica of a town out of the 1930s. I found out I have to miss the Blue's Festival because it falls on the same day as the filming. Bummer filming's on the 25th because my friend and I had a hotel booked and our tickets bought and I was soooo looking forward to going. Performers from the States and as far as Brazil! But that's how it goes.

I have a sore knee from years of jogging, and it really bothers me during one of the yoga sequences. It's where we have to do a push-up and go down on your knees...well, OUCH on my right knee! And we do tons of these moves because they're done in between all the poses. Who would think I'd hurt my knee more in a yoga sequence than in actual jogging! It's because you're lying face down on the floor so the knee has pressure on it from an angle it's not used to. It's the only part of my body that is saying um, excuse me, do you mind? It's really quite painful. I'm going to ask the instructor what she suggests. Maybe it will go away or maybe I can modify a move.

I'm having fun researching real estate in Vancouver (on the chance I decide to transfer to our office there) and I found this property in Vancouver
I'd consider this one! It's so gorgeous. And big enough so the boys have space when they visit, or my mom and my siblings and their families. And of course I'll be after my friends to come visit me!! Geez louise. But this place is also 20 minutes commuting distance to downtown where my office is. So that's pretty decent.

Well, let's see, anything else to add to my diary? My son bought a little Hyundai Accent with only 40,000 Kms on it. It's a standard and it's fun to drive. He also bought himself a computer that he has in his room now. The other son just shaved his head uber short again, just shy of going bald, he has a super short brush cut, just stubble really. He looks like a terrifying skinhead now. It matches his terrifying moods. he he he Oh the joys of adolescence. They turn 19 on July 14th... in 8 days. One more year of teenhood. That phase of being betwixt and between childhood and adulthood. I want independence! No, I want you to do for me! I want you to be perfect! Oh the idealism!! What a lovely luxury, this idealism, prior to the failings we all must face in our adult lives. The failings that help us realize life does not have to live up to our ideals if it doesn't feel like it. And there's not a damn thing we can do about it, but ... accept it. And learn that the failings are our teacher. But no. Now they are clean slates filled with their own ideas...as they should be. Just today JJ said mom why don't you tell Al to clean the car. I said "he did". But it's not to JJ's liking so suddenly it's my responsibility to get after Al. I said no, I'm happy with the state of the car, if it's a problem for you, you can ask him. Then JJ had a hissy fit. sigh. I just love him through it all. I let him cool down and then talk to him as though nothing happened. I refuse to be drawn into emotionally exhausting and futile things. I told JJ he must learn to pick and choose his battles in life.
OH, aren't I becoming the wise one.:cool:

Well, I have gone on. And I hope no one feels obliged to read this diary entry. It truly was a pleasure to write it. I used to keep a diary for years and especially loved it while working through some childhood crap. But now, it's just a way to clear all the things that weigh in on me. Oh! And talk about weight loss and healthy lifestyle. lol

Edit to add: I did forget to add one thing about today. I bought my sister a Roots beach bag and filled it with Avon stuff and can't wait to give it to her. She's an at home mom and one of her four daughters has Autism and an intellectual disability. My sister doesn't spoil herself with things just for her, so I can't wait to give her this.
 
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I see a tiny incredible body! Oh my gosh, just wait until after yoga. I'm excited! Do you feel sore?
Yes, I feel sore in my upper back, stomach, hips and I imagine I'll feel it in different places as I get better at the poses.:eek:
arg i cant see it ... :(
If you convert it to a file format like jpg it will be a large picture but smaller size. If thats to much email it to me large and ill do it :)
((((Thank you Liz)))) I'm sending it to you right away.
As for yoga - well it makes you stronger a little, and perhaps more co-ordinated. But for me its a waste of time - it burns few calories or fat and i get all pissy that i could have burnt 10 times that amount on a bike or running (not to mention NOT falling over! lol)
Yes, I'm thinking I'll also continue jogging and of course walking to work and cycling has really been appealing as of late. Too funny about your comment about falling over. LOL
 
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