Anybody here?????

Hello???? Is everyone but me thin and fit and no longer in need of this blog???

I have done NOTHING to lose weight and I'm running out of 2009, so last week I joined Weight Watchers and so far I have lost 4lbs. It's a start, anyway!

What are you all doing? Anything working really well for you?

Push-Up Challenge Begins Monday

From NerdGirls site: (are you ready to PUSH UP?)

Alright y’all! For everybody who is taking the 100 pushup challenge, don’t forget to visit the website for details, your weekly guides, etc. We’re starting on Monday, so you should “pre-test” on Fri or Sat to give yourself a chance to rest before the challenge begins. Good luck to all - see you at the finish in 6 weeks - stronger and fitter! By May 11, we should all be able to knock out 100.

All pushups count - full body, girl, knuckle, and even those done on the wall. Get in where you fit in!

http://hundredpushups.com/

Push Up Fitness Challenge

Who wants to join me for the "One Hundred Pushup" Challenge?

If you're serious about increasing your strength, follow this six week training program and you'll soon be on your way to completing 100 consecutive push ups!

Think there's no way you could do this? I think you can! All you need is a good plan, plenty of discipline and about 30 minutes a week to achive this goal!

No doubt some of you can already do 50 consecutive push ups, but let's face it, you're in a big minority. Most of you reading this won't even be able to manage 20 pushups. Actually, I'm sure many of you can't even do 10.

However, it really doesn't matter which group you fall into. If you follow the progressive push ups training program, I'm positive you'll soon be able to do 100 push ups!

Check out the One Hundred Push Up Training Program and join me for fabulous arms this summer.

Yoga & Big Breasts

Bikram Yoga is an addiction for me...and an amusement. It amuses me to see how far I can push, twist, stretch & bend my body. I love the challenge and keep going back for more...to see if I can make a breakthrough each day.

One thing that almost always gets me chuckling to myself in the middle of class is attempting to do the poses which require you to put your forehead on your knee. I don't care how flexible you are, if you have breast that require anything larger that a C-cup for support - IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT IT IS GONNA HAPPEN FOR YOU...without actually suffocating on your own breast tissue.Seriously.

I'm a 42D on a good day and no matter how much I try to...

• Strap these puppies down


• Tuck my face in between them - yeah in the cleavage


• Tuck my chin, suck in my stomach so hard that my intestines are shoved down into my cervix, and rolling one vertebrae at a time down


• Pull on my heels, the ball of my foot or any other part of my body till I'm crunched in half

I'm not going to be able to get my forehead on my cotton picken knee. I keep trying. I keep almost passing out from lack of air. Yes, Yoga Torture Instructor (aka - my Bikram crack supplier) I am cutting off the supply of blood to my brain. Practice will make perfect. *SMH*

I've looked around and my fellow big breasted yogi's are all having the same issues. Occasionally, I catch the eye of one of my BBY's and we share an amusing smile and keep on truckin.I'm off to another class today...I may not get my head on my knee, but I'm gonna try to stick toe today (at least on my left side). Nothing but my fear in the way of that pose. Fear I can get rid of...the 42D's...not so much.

Anyone up for............

..............a Lenten re-dedication to weight loss and healthy living?

I have all the tools, but the stress of selling this house has me cheating on my diet all night long, not to mention the fact I am missing exercise classes on a regular basis due to work and family commitments.

Now I'm ready to give up my un-healthy diet and exercise habits for Lent. Anyone else game?

Day 3: Not Everything is a Competition

Posture #2: Ardha Chandrasana - Half Moon Pose

I walk into class this morning and checked the Challenge sign up list to see how many people had signed up. Hmmmm. That's a lot, wonder how many will really finish. I went back to the locker room, put away my stuff and then went to set up my mat & towel. Whew, MY spot is still open (front row, to the right of the instructor stand) - I hate it when someone is in MY spot.

Class starts. Your supposed to look at yourself in the mirror, focus on yourself, your body, the pose - 90 minutes of moving meditation. "You are your best teacher." Uh Huh.

Lisa was NOT focusing on herself, she was competing with others in the room, unbeknown to them. Yep. I was kinda looking beyond myself in the mirror at spaghetti body chick or at the mother from the Incredibles and saying....DAMN, why can't I do that? I was, through sheer determination, trying to twist, stretch and bend my body just like SuperStretch who not only has been doing this for years but also probably weighs about as much as one of my thighs.

Suddenly, my body decided to jack slap me back into reality (FOCUS ON YOU!, YOU STOOPIT AZZ) by delivering a sharp pain up the back of my leg. Gotch your attention now, don't I?

It was at that moment that I realized that NOT EVERYTHING IS A DAMN COMPETITION WITH SOMEONE ELSE. This is about focusing on me, listening to my body, and training my mind and my body to go further, deeper, be stronger. The only person I am competing with during this challenge is my own ego.

My ego. My thoughts. The white noise of my mind.

I could either spend this time competing with other people, hurting myself, not getting stronger or better. Or I could become "My Best Teacher", listen to my body, focus my mind and shame the devil.

By the way, I've pretty much got the left side of picture/first part of Half Moon, the right sideof picture/second part - Not So Much.

DAY1: 30 Day Bikram Challenge

Pranayama - Standing Deep Breathing
From WorldYogaFoundation.com

I started the 30 days of Bikram Yoga Challenge today. In case you didn't know, there are 26 poses in the series. I thought I would cover all of the poses for you over the course of the event and share with you what is happening with me/to me during this challenge. I was talking to CreoleInDC today and she asked me what I wanted to get out of doing this challenge. Well, I certainly wanted the physical benefits from doing Bikram Yoga:

- Flexibility

- Strength - Many yoga poses require you to support the weight of your own body in new ways, including balancing on one leg or supporting yourself with your core. Some exercises require you to move slowly in and out of poses, which also increases strength.

- Muscle Tone

- Weight Loss

However, there is some other things that I want to achieve from this:

Mental Calmness - Concentrating so intently on what your body is doing has the effect of bringing a calmness to the mind. Yoga also introduces you to meditation techniques, such as watching how you breathe and disengagement from your thoughts, which help calm the mind. My mind is always going a mile a minute, and 90 minutes of moving meditation is just what this sister need to slow down and smell the daisies.

Stress Reduction -Because of the concentration required, your daily troubles, both large and small, seem to melt away during the time you are doing yoga. This provides a much-needed break from your stressors, as well as helping put things into perspective. There is a lot going on in my life right now. Proper perspective and an ability to relax, relate, release is welcome.

Body Awareness -Doing yoga will give you an increased awareness of your own body. Over time, this will increase your level of comfort in your own body. This can lead to improved posture and greater self-confidence. I always feel taller & more lean after class. Perhaps my stride will get even more fierce.

So, how was Day1? Let me tell you...Giiiiirrrrrlllll...it was hot as a mofo today. We had a male instructor lead us through the poses and it was like having Gengis Khan teaching. No fans, no occassional opening of the doors. Just cracking the whip, moving it along. DAMN. Although I am definitly improving on my poses and ability to focus, concentrate and hold, I thought I was gonna die. Then there was this chick in the back row that just wanted to do her own ish. WTF? Do you know how distracting it is when you are doing something totally different and moving all around. Get control of yourself. Finally, the instructor had to tell her to "be still" in between poses. Thank you!

Something happened to me today after the standing series that the instructors are always saying might happen, but of course, I thought it was malarky. I know about the gettting dizzy part, but what I didn't buy was that you might get all emotional after some of the poses due to the release of toxins, stress or whatever else you might be holding on to. Humph. Yeah right. Well, after the standing series, I started to feel sick - for real. I felt like my skin was on fire, my heart beat was not returning to normal - constantly racing and like a weight was on my chest. I tries to work it out by relaxing in Savasana (Dead Body Pose), but it was just getting worse. The instructors always recommend that you stay in the room and try to work though it, but I just couldn't. I thought I was gonna blow chunks or explode in flames if I didn't get outta there. I went into the bathroom, and burst in to tears. Nope, I do not know why. All I know is that after my short boo hoo, I felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my sholders, went back into class and knocked out the final poses without a hitch.

I don't know what that was all about, but whatever it was - it was cathartic. Amazing. I'm going back tomorrow for Day2.