for a while now, i’ve been flirtingwith the idea of really fusing my love of yoga more completely with my concept oflifestyle design but didn’t know exactly how to approach it. i guess i was hesitant to lay it all on theline and then get pigeon-holed into talking about the same stuff over andover. again in need of some guidance, ireached out to anna, founder of
curvy yoga with my question: how important ishaving a niche to define and build your brand? to my delight, not only did she respond to my inquiry, but she alsooffered to talk over the phone to discuss it even further.
anna reassured me that having aniche – in her case,
yoga for your body , no matter your size – only helps to expand your presence. by creating a voice and defining your topic,you become the “expert”, and you can then draw from your experience to furtherconnect with your audience – something i long to do on a grander scale.
with her advice to share moreheart-to-hearts, i’ve decided to take the leap and commit to the idea that’sbeen haunting me (in a good way) for some time: to share my transformation –from a girl who hated her body to a young woman who not only loves butappreciates her being, inside and out (most of the time – we’re all awork-in-progress).
afraid that things would get tooserious and that i wouldn’t have the proper advice to offer, i’ve continuallyshied away from getting too deep on
lifestyle maven . but, the truth is, the stuff that i didn’twant to talk about is the very stuff that we, as women, need to hear, because when it comes to ourselves, we so easilyforget to treat our bodies with kindness. instead of trusting our bodies' innate wisdom, we ignore it, preferring to harp on the notion that they are too big, too small, not curvy enough or too flabby.somewhere along the line we’ve come to believe that berating and punishingourselves with our thoughts, actions and with the way we treat food willaccomplish something. but we’re toosmart to continue to believe that – we’ve been there and know deep down that hating ourselves willnever bring about a truly positive change. constrainedby never-ending diets, general self-loathing or, in the mostextreme situations, an eating or body-dysmorphic disorder, we make our livessmall – not our bodies. with thefirst-hand knowledge that these negative thoughts plague the minds of so many women, nomatter their age or dress size, i feel i can no longer deny the need toshare, encourage and support through the platform that i’ve developed – my blog.
growing up as a sometimes slightly-overweight, sometimes “normal” weight girl was rough – not because i was teasedrelentlessly (although i had my fair share of weight-related comments thatstung), but because
i tortured myself. iwas consumed by my weight and full-heartedly felt that if i could only weigh less, iwould be infinitely happier. somehow ibelieved that the smaller the size i wore, the more happiness i would beallotted. but, in case you didn’t guess where this was headed, it doesn’t worklike that. true happiness has nocorrelation with the circumference of your waist, and no matter what size youare, you can still have “fat days”.
so, what gives? if you hate yourself when you’re “fat”, andare still at war with your body after you’ve achieved a normal weight or are even thin,then happiness must come from somewhere else. {light bulb moment.} just when ihad myself convinced that i would have to count calories and forever do exercisesi hated just to maintain my weight, yoga came into my life. i admit, i was initially drawn to thepractice because it was a good workout – but it soon turned into somethingmore. something beautiful. i found that through the yogic practice of linkingmovement with breath, i began to experience my body in a new way – caring moreabout how my body
felt, and less about how it
looked. yoga puts you in touch with your intuition –that authentic voice that we override with diets and negative self-talk. and, the more in-touch i got with my true self,the more i softened my tight grip on what i “should eat” or “shouldn’t eat” or“should do” or “shouldn’t do” in terms of exercise, and the more effortlessmaintaining my weight – and my happiness – became.
my yoga practice has enabled me totap into
my inner wisdom and consequently bring more mindfulness and awarenessinto my life as a whole. when we are conscious of the subtle needs of our being, we are more able to fully embody ourauthentic selves and move away from our ego – that crazy voice that tells usthat we’re fat, unworthy or unlovable. and, we begin to cultivate a calm mind housed in a healthy body.
i invite you to join me on this journey of self-exploration. i know, without a doubt, that yoga and intuitive living can change your life and begin to release you from the negative thoughts, feelings and self-talk that continue to infiltrate your life. i know this, because yoga has transformed my life for the better.
anna reassured me that having aniche – in her case, yoga for your body , no matter your size – only helps to expand your presence. by creating a voice and defining your topic,you become the “expert”, and you can then draw from your experience to furtherconnect with your audience – something i long to do on a grander scale.
with her advice to share moreheart-to-hearts, i’ve decided to take the leap and commit to the idea that’sbeen haunting me (in a good way) for some time: to share my transformation –from a girl who hated her body to a young woman who not only loves butappreciates her being, inside and out (most of the time – we’re all awork-in-progress).
afraid that things would get tooserious and that i wouldn’t have the proper advice to offer, i’ve continuallyshied away from getting too deep on lifestyle maven . but, the truth is, the stuff that i didn’twant to talk about is the very stuff that we, as women, need to hear, because when it comes to ourselves, we so easilyforget to treat our bodies with kindness. instead of trusting our bodies' innate wisdom, we ignore it, preferring to harp on the notion that they are too big, too small, not curvy enough or too flabby.somewhere along the line we’ve come to believe that berating and punishingourselves with our thoughts, actions and with the way we treat food willaccomplish something. but we’re toosmart to continue to believe that – we’ve been there and know deep down that hating ourselves willnever bring about a truly positive change. constrainedby never-ending diets, general self-loathing or, in the mostextreme situations, an eating or body-dysmorphic disorder, we make our livessmall – not our bodies. with thefirst-hand knowledge that these negative thoughts plague the minds of so many women, nomatter their age or dress size, i feel i can no longer deny the need toshare, encourage and support through the platform that i’ve developed – my blog.
growing up as a sometimes slightly-overweight, sometimes “normal” weight girl was rough – not because i was teasedrelentlessly (although i had my fair share of weight-related comments thatstung), but because i tortured myself. iwas consumed by my weight and full-heartedly felt that if i could only weigh less, iwould be infinitely happier. somehow ibelieved that the smaller the size i wore, the more happiness i would beallotted. but, in case you didn’t guess where this was headed, it doesn’t worklike that. true happiness has nocorrelation with the circumference of your waist, and no matter what size youare, you can still have “fat days”.
so, what gives? if you hate yourself when you’re “fat”, andare still at war with your body after you’ve achieved a normal weight or are even thin,then happiness must come from somewhere else. {light bulb moment.} just when ihad myself convinced that i would have to count calories and forever do exercisesi hated just to maintain my weight, yoga came into my life. i admit, i was initially drawn to thepractice because it was a good workout – but it soon turned into somethingmore. something beautiful. i found that through the yogic practice of linkingmovement with breath, i began to experience my body in a new way – caring moreabout how my body felt, and less about how it looked. yoga puts you in touch with your intuition –that authentic voice that we override with diets and negative self-talk. and, the more in-touch i got with my true self,the more i softened my tight grip on what i “should eat” or “shouldn’t eat” or“should do” or “shouldn’t do” in terms of exercise, and the more effortlessmaintaining my weight – and my happiness – became.
my yoga practice has enabled me totap into my inner wisdom and consequently bring more mindfulness and awarenessinto my life as a whole. when we are conscious of the subtle needs of our being, we are more able to fully embody ourauthentic selves and move away from our ego – that crazy voice that tells usthat we’re fat, unworthy or unlovable. and, we begin to cultivate a calm mind housed in a healthy body.
i invite you to join me on this journey of self-exploration. i know, without a doubt, that yoga and intuitive living can change your life and begin to release you from the negative thoughts, feelings and self-talk that continue to infiltrate your life. i know this, because yoga has transformed my life for the better.