Waisting away

Having just been on a four month yoga retreat to Ashtanga Auroville in India, and a 6 week Intensive teacher training course at Ashtanga Yoga Paris my most common greeting at the moment is ‘wow, you look great but where did the rest of you go?’.

I was always fairly petite but swapping my glass of red wine for my yoga matt has definitely helped the middle age mid-riff / muffin top. I had noticed that the ‘flat as a pancake’ belly was starting to look more like a ‘calzone pizza’ and had made a mental note to self that I must start making an effort to keep it under control. That was one of my main reasons for starting yoga, hitting the other-side-of-thirty and realising that you actually had to make an effort to look good and not keep relying on the blessings of youth.

So I had gently started out on my yogic path, attending one class a week and blissfully having no idea of the pain, sweat, tears and addiction that lay before me. Before I knew it I my once a week led class turned into regularly attending 2/3 classes a week and a self practice started to emerge.

Next I was off to India to bump up my practice to 6 days a week! Yes 6! And little did I know I was going to learn more about my practice than how to balance in bhujapidasana. I learnt (and forgot) and learnt again about trying too hard. About accepting where you are and being happy with where ever it is that you are. Learning to be happy with practicing and not intent on the end result. In fact that there is no end result, its all about where you today. Accepting for what ever reason that it may not be where you are tomorrow (you might injure yourself, fall pregnant, feel faint or just not be able to do something for no reason whatsoever). Just accept it and be happy.

As an Ashtangi I noticed that my core strength improved dramatically, and so therefore my waist became slimmer and my stomach became firmer. I have decided to write a quick and simple Ashtanga recipe for a slimmer waist. Easy to follow, quick to digest and tastes oh so sweet and results in a slimmer stronger waistline.

Ingredients:

Sun salutations

One yoga mat

A handful of standing sequence asana

A smile

 

Approx waisting away time – 30 mins

 

Step one: Wake up.

Reach for your smile and stretch. Tell yourself that you are looking forward to a good stretch this morning and that you can’t wait to start. (Its all about mind over matter – don’t listen to any of those other voices in your head telling you you’d rather have coffee and jam on toast instead…. Tell yourself I want to stretch, I want to stretch….)

 

Step two: Roll out your yoga matt

Just get on it. And start. Don’t listen to any excuses that may pop up to dissuade you….. just do it just do it just do it.

 

Step Three:  Mix some sun salutations together until nicely bended.

Surya Namaskara A x 5

(Oh the first one may be a bit stiff but just take it slowly and ease into the stretches. Walk the dog – raise and lower your heels in downward facing dog to gently warm up the hamstrings).

Surya Namaskara B x5

Oh gently work into the lunge to really waken up the quads and stretch the hamstrings. Again take the first few easy, wake the body up slowly. You will begin to notice how quickly the body loosens up and what a massive difference it makes to your body to really wake it up.

 

Step Four: Add a handful of standing sequence asana’s:

Pandangushtasana & Padahastasana 

By drawing the stomach in as you fold forwards makes you contract and strengthen the lower abs. These two poses are great for dissolving fat in the lower abdomen – perfect for reducing the muffin top down.

Utthita Trikonasana ; Triangle pose – everyone’s favourite triangle.

The triangle dissolves the bad fat of the waist. Fact! And brings the body back into shape, it also strengthens the backbone. 3 Good reasons to do it every morning!

Parshvakonasana: This pose purifies the ribs and the lower abdomen and dissolves the fat around the waistline.

Prasarita Padottanasana – these forward bends will all strenghten and tighten the stomach muscles, dissolve excess fat around the waistline and make the waist thin and strong. It can also purify the top part of the spinal column and the waist.

Don’t forget to add a slice of smile here…..

Parshvottanasana; Again, this pose is excellent for dissolving fat around the waistline and makes the lower abdomen thin and the waist strong, but keeps the body light.

(As well as being aimed at keeping a slimmer waist all the poses mentioned above will keep the limbs of the body loose, this will aid general movement of the joints and muscles. They can be done by anyone and will relive pain in the joints and stiffness in the body.)

For free pod cast instructions of the above poses please visit http://www.ashtangaworkshop.com/yoga_videos.php

 

Step Five– Sit in Padmasana for at least 10 breaths and feel the body begin to relax.

 

Cover with love….. and leave to settle

 

Step Six – SAVASANA – Lie down and recoup for at least 5-10 mins and let your muscles relax and melt away.

 

Step Seven – Douse the body with a hot honey and lemon (good for detoxing the system and cleansing the liver and kidneys. It wakes you up faster than coffee and it tastes of sunshine. Perfect for your happy healthy well stretched body.

 

Step Eight – Have a lovely day. Smile. Be kind. Smell the flowers and commit random acts of kindness – it’s amazing how good it will make you feel.