Love Yoga, Love Life.

A long long time ago, believe it or not, i used to be skinny. back then, at 5ft 2 inches height, I only weigh around 90lbs, considering my ideal weight should be 115lbs. during those times, people don't put that much interest in losing weight, i think people then knows how to appreciate their body and doesn't see the need to stay slim unless you are interested in pursuing a career in fashion or showbiz. if i have that body then now, i guess many would have envied me. I can eat anything i want without gaining any weight at all. but maybe due to my aging body, the slowing down of my metabolism, change in lifestyle, or just pure luck, my problem reversed. I now gained extra pounds and have curves in some of the most unwanted parts of my body. And now are the days that people are so obsess with slimming down. Gyms, health studio, slimming pills and crash diets are some of the hot search topics in the web. i think the society nowadays dictates what is beautiful, what is sexy, what is healthy, what is fab...practically what a perfect human being should be. and since the power of the internet makes these ideas readily available to anyone, it could either help a person to aspire to be better or it could bring more frustration and depression if they fail to meet those standards. I on my part fell prey to this trend. I tried crash diets and slimming pills as a desperate attempt to bring back my old body. I did lose some weight but i think my aging body is paying for it since I am now suffering asthma attacks which I don't have before. I have gotten slim but I have never felt more sickly as I was before. Thankfully, through internet, I got interested in yoga when in one of my research on how to handle asthma for adults, I read through an article on how yoga helps in managing asthma. Plus it is also a good form of exercise which I had assumed would help me in managing my weight problem as well. That's hitting two (or more since there are other benefits of yoga as well) birds in one, right?! So searching for the nearest yoga studio I could enroll, I managed to build up a courage to attend my first yoga class. And now I've been doing yoga for more than two months already. I still have asthma attacks and my weight is still see-sawing now and then. But there are more good things and realizations that yoga has taught me. I now realized more than ever that I really need to take care of my body. Not only for myself but for those people I love. Yoga also empowered me. It made me realized that age should not be a hindrance in learning new things and embarking on new endeavors. When my life before used to revolve on my family and my career, I now consider my yoga session as my 'ME' time. It is something I can do on my own and yet the love for my family and life and my willingness to be a better person is what I have in mind and inspires me during the practice. So yeah, I still don't fit in size 0 clothes but I feel more confident in whatever body frame I am in. I love my body and myself more. And I guess if you're in that state of being, everybody could not help but love you more too.