Meditation as a Weight Loss Strategy

You may be wondering how exactly this Yin half of my weight loss system is really going to help you achieve your weight goals. Sure, the Yang half, with its push-ups and sit-ups and such, makes sense, but if all you do is sit and move gently for the Yin half, how will that help you reach a healthy weight?

The answer is this: meditation is brain exercise. Many aspects of your mind, such as self-control and healthy thought patterns, become stronger the more you practice them. They are just like muscles, and if you don't give them a workout often, they may fail you when you really need them.

When there is junk food around the house, not having the self control to stop snacking makes your weight problem worse. When you are at a party with lots of treats and desserts, and you keep going back to the food area for "one more cookie," that's your mindfulness muscle already failing you. Those moments matter when it comes to our weight and our health.

A meditation routine can be a huge help when you are faced with moments like that. Meditation is often VERY difficult for people at first. It isn't painful, or dangerous. It's just frustrating. Sitting in place for five minutes without making a sound is an exercise is discipline. Your mind constantly bombards you with thoughts of everything and anything, and meditation's goal is to help you quiet that crazy "monkey mind," as it's called in Eastern philosophies, so that you can feel more emotionally balanced and in control.

When you can sit down quietly for five minutes without needing to check your phone, you'll find that you can also say "no thank you," the next time that dessert tray comes around. It's all willpower and self-control. 

Remember: discipline is a practice, not a place. This isn't foolproof. Everyone has moments of weakness (especially when those moments involve chocolate). But this Yin routine is meant to put you on a path toward more healthy eating, and less unhealthy eating.

Good luck!

Mind-over-Matter Weight Loss: Candle Meditation

Welcome back everyone! Today, we begin the second portion of my Mind-over-Matter weight loss routine, which is the Yin half. This part of my weight loss system focuses on meditation. I firmly believe that clearing the mind and increasing willpower is half of the battle when trying to lose weight. So today, we begin with a meditation that has three parts to help you stay focused.

First: Set up a candle, or a digital candle, to watch while you meditate:

Then, incorporate Fire Breath, and my Tip-of-the-Tongue tip, to help you focus even further:

Fire Breath

Tip of the Tongue

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Good luck with this first exercise in the Yin half of my Mind-over-Matter Weight Loss System!

Counting Breath Cool Down

As the final part of our Yang-side Weight Loss workout, we do a counting breath cool down meditation. This is a great way to transition into the Mind half of the Mind-Body routine.

The reason we end this half of the series with Counting Breath is because the previous exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, etc.) were designed to get your heart rate up, and make you breath faster. Now, you can pay attention and count as your breath slows and your body relaxes. Make sure to breath in through your nose as much as possible. Good luck!

How to: Counting Breath Meditation

Practice: Counting Breath Meditation

Emotional Health and Weight Loss

I'm a firm believer in the ability of physical health to improve one's mental health. The attitude of the body is the attitude of the mind, after all. If you are in a bad mood, you'd be amazed just how much positive impact a workout can have. It can be cardio, Tai Chi, strength training, stretching, anything really. When the body is moved around and feels healthy, that releases chemicals in the brain that help stabilize your emotions.

However, it is important to distinguish between a simple mood swing, and a more serious or chronic mental health issue. Mind-Body techniques can be used to treat many mental health issues, but they are used in a preventative way. For example, mindfulness meditation can help prevent Major Depressive Episodes, but it isn't used as a treatment during these episodes. The same goes for anxiety: if you keep to a mind-body exercise routine while you are feeling good, it's very possible that your anxiety levels will drop, and you won't have as many anxiety attacks. But if you are having an anxiety attack, doing Tai Chi forms is not how you should get through it.

This also applies to non-clinical, chronic emotional states, like grieving or mourning. These are natural processes that require time, loved ones, and often counseling, to properly deal with. If you want to stay as healthy as possible, whether that means losing weight, building muscle, or just being active, it is imperative that you first acknowledge, and seek treatment for, any chronic emotional issues you are experiencing.

Once you are emotionally stable again, then you should develop your mind-body routine and pursue your physical health goals. A peaceful mind can be harnessed to heal and strengthen your body, mind, energy, and spirit. A worried and bothered mind cannot. Weight loss is 50% willpower, and strong willpower comes from a peaceful mind.

Happy Stretching!

Dealing with Sciatica

Pain that shoots up or down the leg and into the lower back can be caused by a few different things, and the first step in treating this kind of pain is understanding where it's coming from.

One possible cause of this leg and back pain is an issue with your Sacroiliac Joint. SI joint issues are often mistaken for lower back injuries or sciatica. They can occur due to age, posture, lifestyle, and are more common in women.

Another cause of this pain is sciatica. Instead of being caused by improper functioning of a joint, sciatica is usually the result of a herniated disc, or other spinal issue. The disc or soft tissues pinch the nerve roots in the lower back , which send pain singles down the sciatic nerve and into the legs.

The pain from sciatica can range from hardly noticeable to incapacitating. When it gets bad, doctors will often suggest cortisone injections. But this fix is only temporary.

If you want to prevent sciatica, or treat your current sciatic pain and prevent reoccurrence, follow this mind-body exercise routine, similar to the one for SI Joint pain:

1. Calf Stretch: Remember to utilize 60% effort, less is often more with joint and nerve issues
2. Vitamin H: Do whichever hamstring stretch works best for you. The video shows a few ways to safely stretch your hamstrings if you back is giving you problems.
3. Chair Twist: Again, go only to between 60% and 80% effort. 
4. Outer Hip Stretch: Can be done on a chair, or on the ground. (Video coming Tuesday!)
5. Groin Stretch: You can use a chair or a machine, like I show in the video.

Remember, meditation is a huge part of healing and relaxation. Pairing your physical exercises with breathing patterns and Tai Chi forms will only improve your results. Consider combining this exercise with my Sunrise Tai Chi form, visualizing the energy from the sun flowing through your body, into the SI Joint or Sciatic Nerve, and then down into the Earth, dissolves the pain like a river eroding a stone.

Yin and Yang in Meditation

There are, generally speaking, two kinds of meditation: passive meditation, and active meditation.

Passive meditation would be something like Zen meditation. The goal of Zen is to sit quietly and do nothing. Have no thoughts, and simply accept the sensations in your body and the state of the world around you without judgment.

Active meditation includes Taoist visualizations. You may look like you are sitting and doing nothing, but on the inside you are actively picturing the movement of energy through your body, around your body, and in the world outside. Active meditation is about willpower, and your ability to maintain focus on one thing for an extended period of time.

Both kinds of meditation are important for a healthy mind, just like both strength and flexibility are important for a healthy body. To function at 100% during the day, your mind needs to be clear. Clear of worry when you are just resting (passive meditation), and clear of distractions when you are working (active meditation). 

When it comes to sticking to your mind-body routine, both acceptance and willpower are needed. You need the willpower to get up off the couch, put down the potato chips, and do those workouts. But you also need acceptance and patience for when you don't do your workout, so you aren't beating yourself up about missing a day and giving yourself unhelpful stress.

Think about which side of the meditation balance you need to work on, and how your life, or the lives of people around you, might be different if you could do both equally well.