The Day Before

Well, well. I start my journey tomorrow alongside an army of people from all around the world. Not gonna lie to you: it's pretty exciting and I am looking forward to it. UY Facebook group is turning out to be pretty awesome and I have a feeling that I'm gonna meet some pretty interesting people there.
Now, I have been asked several questions that I want to address here before I start. One of them is why am I doing this? People wonder if I am crazy, bored, having a mid life crisis or just killing time. Well... none of the above! I am doing this for me and for myself only. Yoga makes me feel pretty good about myself and my surroundings; and when one feels good with oneself, one is a better person towards others. I find that I am more calm, patient, understanding, open and caring. It also quiets my mind and makes me see things more clearly, living in the now and not fretting so much about what happened or what's to come. It also tones my body in amazing ways, and honestly... I like looking good. So, now you know! I think those are some amazing reasons why to take care of yourself, yes?
I have also been asked if I am going to all of a sudden turn vegetarian or a "freak who only eats fruit". Hellz no! Like I said before, I keep a healthy diet. It's not perfect and I do overindulge sometimes. I will try to do my absolute best to keep a healthier diet all throughout the program. I will be giving up alcohol and processed foods. I will be cooking all my food fresh from home and if I go out to a restaurant I will stick to salads. I will be buying all my produce and ingredients organic. About coffee, it's not a problem for me to give it up because I am a tea drinker; but I do like my Coke Zero, so caffeine is present. I will reduce my intake of that to one -two tops- cokes a day. Dairy? I won't be giving that up. I like it and I always consume it with moderation. I will be changing the kind of dairy I eat, like instead of having some camembert or brie, I will have fresh goat cheese or cottage cheese. Meat, fish and chicken? Gonna keep them in my diet. I will reduce the amount of meat I eat and change it for grilled chicken or fresh fish. I have already been to the market and bought all kinds of healthy food to aide me in the sensible eating program. I will be recording everything I eat and drink in this blog, so keep an eye out for those photos and recipes! I will write it all down at night, once my son is in bed and the day is winding down so I can do it in peace, so those blog posts will be coming up in the afternoon over in America.
I am also creating a cute space for my practice at home. It's not yet complete since I am waiting for some things to arrive from the States; but as soon as it's ready, I will post some photos of it.
Finally, I weighed myself this morning and took the before pictures. I am 5.7" and weigh 126 lbs. Of my body mass 27.1 is fat (normal range) and I have 2088 calorie intake daily. I will weigh myself again after I finish the first part of the sequence and see what comes up.
As for the photos? Well, here they are. I will take some more when I weigh myself again.

May 6th 2013

Vrksasana

Parsvakonasana

Utthita Parsvakonasana

Virabhadrasana I

Virabhadrasana II

Parivrtta Virabhadrasana II

Wish me luck!