Book Review: Hip Tranquil Chick by Kimberly Wilson

In the interest of spring renewal (which involves getting through the pile of books - literally about 2 dozen - that I keep saying I'm "going to read" but never make time to), I picked up the copy of Kimberly Wilson's Hip Tranquil Chick that I had gotten from Amazon oh, say, a couple of months ago.

I have to say, I was fairly well set up by her weekly podcast to know what to expect - a guide to mindful and fabulous living told in a somewhat annoyingly girly style. For me, the language was just too much - it was like Cosmo meets Yoga Journal. That said, if you can get past the sheer volume of pink, leopard print, and kitten heel references (which feel like they happen at least once every 5 pages or so), it's a very well thought-out, easy to read book. It covers the basic principles of yoga in an easy-digestible format that made it that much easier to apply it to my life, and gives ideas for living mindfully, decorating fabulously on a budget, taking ultra-good care of yourself, and taking ultra-good care of others through your work. While a lot of the information you could easily get from other sources, the benefit of the book is that it's compact (only a couple hundred pages maybe), VERY easy to read, and covers all the bases.

So, if you're looking for a quick refresher course on how to create a groovy and tranquil existence (and you want to develop a drinking game wherein you take a shot every time you see the words "kitten heels"), definitely pick up this book.

I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar! (quietly, yes, but still)

This morning I finally took myself up on my commitment to go to o2 Yoga on Tuesday mornings, and even after three days of no yoga and WAY more meat than I should ever be eating, I have to say I'm a lot stronger than I think I am. I was able to get through a pretty vinyasa-heavy class (for the non-yoga folks out there, it's this sequence of postures where you touch your toes, jump back to a push-up position, do a push up, arch your back up and then bring your butt up so your body's in an upside-down V shape. This happens about every 5 minutes as you do the practice.) without killing myself, although I was doing it A LOT more slowly towards the end. Still, it was definitely Good For Me.

What I like about going to class as opposed to my normal home practice (especially when the class is at o2) is that it's inspiring - most of the students at o2 are people, like me, who do yoga as their primary spiritual/physical practice, and all of them have really beautiful bodies - a body which, despite having quite a bit of extra padding still, I'm starting to see in myself.

I have so much more to write about in terms of various life-changing moments, but I have to go be productive now. I'm so pleased!

Changes

One of the things you notice when you've been working out a lot (at least I notice it) is that your whole body starts to change; the fat is still there to an extent, but everything is tighter, more athletic. I've been doing yoga on a pretty regular basis now for about a month now, and I'm starting to notice a huge difference in my overall shape, especially my stomach. I've still got plenty to pinch, mind, but I swear I can see a six-pack under the flab that has yet to go away. on top of that, my arms are much less jiggly.

It's nice to take notice of things like that once in a while. It gets too easy to focus on the numbers on the scale and refuse to notice the small victories that life is handing you.

Winter weather blahs and blechs

I have to admit, it gets much harder to stick to my daily yoga plan during the winter. I tend to get a touch of SAD, which makes getting out of bed more difficult than I care for it to be (this morning, which is gray and rainy, was nearly impossible), but I'm somehow managing to persevere. The last few days my practice has been limited or non-existent, but I'm going to take some time to do it now before I get into the full swing of the workday.

In other news, I was finally able to get a new (and quite lovely) yoga outfit for myself, as a reward for being so good on vacation. I'm starting to notice now that I don't have as many bulges as I used to have; while I'm certainly not skinny, there's a much leaner overall appearance to my body that I'm quite enjoying.

Not much to report

Except to say that I'm seeing definite tightening of certain areas (especially my tummy, arms and bum), I'm eating more mindfully, and there is a definite Loosening of Pant. All of which makes me very happy.

Now that I'm back in the grind, so to speak, daily yoga is a bit more of a challenge than it was during vacation. There was less of an excuse then—I didn't have jobs to get to, or things to do, and I could allow myself not to have a choice to do it. Now that I'm here, I'm finding all sorts of little excuses not to do it.

My next big challenge is taking control of my time. This means less time checking e-mail and my various online distractions, and more time making lists and getting through them. The New Year has brought with it a few new clients already, so it's time to get on top of things!

Edit: Upon further inspection, I'm also noticing significantly Less to Pinch, another thing that makes me smile.

It fits ALL. Really?

Taken from a yoga store's website:

"This tank is available in a single, one-size-fits-all size. It will comfortably fit anyone from size 2 through 8."

I ask you, REALLY. Is that one size fits ALL?

Let me start (well, okay—continue) this rant by stating one thing unequivocally: I ain't petite. I never WAS petite. I shall never BE petite. At my absolute thinnest EVER I was a size 10, and while some probably thought I could have lost even a bit more weight, I didn't need to, and I certainly didn't want to. I, and my body, were perfectly happy at a size 10. I looked good. I was healthy. I was happy. As. A. Size. 10.

Now. You wanna rephrase that one-size-fits-all bit?

After two weeks of daily yoga

I'm noticing that I don't eat nearly as much as I used to (although yesterday, exhausted from the lack of sleep that accompanied New Year's Eve at my mom's house, was a definite Off Day). I'm also noticing that I generally have more energy, despite the fact that I desperately need to crash hard and early tonight. But most of all, I'm noticing not only that I'm stronger, but that the uncomfortable tightness that accompanied certain items of clothing just recently has lessened significantly, even though it's still on the tight side.

What I'm saying here is that I'm pretty damn psyched and I want to keep this up.

I'm also saying that I managed to meet my goal of doing yoga every day during my vacation (with the exception of the day I spent walking to the store and cleaning the layer of white dust from renovations that was covering my apartment when I got home, which broke me for a day), which means I get to give myself a reward. So sometime this week I'm going to get myself a snazzy new yoga outfit, probably from Lulu Lemon, but I'm open to suggestion.

Vacation Day 3: Progress Made, but Slowly

So, I'm on day three of the big Florida trip, and thus far I've done yoga every day and evening, and I even got in a 1-hour private class with my boyfriend Nick's mother (who it turns out is a quite accomplished yogini herself) along with my two daily practices. The eating is still not quite where it should be (I'm feeling insanely bloated today from all the food I've been eating and the overwhelming lack of fiber), but I'm practicing compassion and forgiveness towards myself for it, and working towards enforcing smaller portions with myself, which proves challenging with Nick's family; his father loves to cook as much as I do, and every time he does there's a metric ton of really tasty food to contend with. If I can just get him not to do appetizers all the time in addition to three courses, I'd be okay.

Overall, though, I'm pleased. I'm a bit behind the ball on yoga today (I couldn't get to sleep last night, so I'm off-kilter today), but I'm going to do it now. Ta!