Day 108 - Namaste

So here I am, on the other side of the Ultimate Yogi, all 108 days complete.  Let's reflect first on the juice feast and lessons learned:

Juice Feast

1. Just because I lived off of V8 for 5 days when I was 19 doesn't mean that I can do it for 3 in my 30s.
2. Smoothies taste delicious when all you've had is V8 and water (see #1)
3. Soy Milk does not count as juice and there is no such thing as Beef Juice (even the drippings from your burger???!!!)
4. Hunger comes and goes in spurts and gets easier day after day.
5. Eating nothing for 3 days is actually easier than eating raw fruits and vegetables for 3 days - at least for me.
6. On the third day I was seriously "hangry".

So with that done, I was ready to tackle my 108 Sun Salutation final challenge: 

108 Sun Salutations

1. As with most of the program it is really hard to focus for 108 straight repetitions.
2. I am still a perv - albeit a more enlightened perv.
3. There is no such thing as the Ultimate Yogi or at least I will never be it.  However, I will be more centered, happier, supplement free, stronger, more flexible, more enlivened and more appreciative than I have ever been before.
4. The middle 36 were probably the hardest because you are tired and you don't yet see the light at the end of the tunnel.

For those of you wondering about my prophecy on Day 2 - yes there were tears at the end.  I honestly don't know what came over me - whether it was hunger, sadness, fatigue, happiness, joy, pride, wussiness or a blend of all of the above, but tears were definitely involved.

So a number of you spambots may be wondering what is next?  Well more yoga of course.  This journey helped me realize that weight training is not for me anymore, at least for now (never say never).  I purchased Yoga Warrior 365 and after taking this weekend to get some perspective (read: get really drunk) I started the program today.  I can already tell it is slower paced and not as intense as the Ultimate Yogi, but that is a good thing too.  Perhaps the longer held poses will allow me to focus and work on testing my edges.

I have no current plans to post on that journey, but I encourage you all to check back once in a while as who knows when the spirit may move me.

I'll leave you in true corporate fashion with some key metrics about my journey:

1. Days of Yoga: 108 (+1 @ Corporate HQ)
2. Days to complete the journey: 116
3. Days with sufficiently focused meditation: 0
4. Days of Crazy Diets: 9
5. Pounds lost on the program: 13
6. Cumulative Pounds lost since re-finding Yoga in Jan 2013: 31
7. Tears Shed: Too many
8. Yogi Style Pushups: Too many

Namaste

Day 99 - Life is good

Can't believe I'm almost there.  It has been an incredible journey.  As Travis promised, I am finishing happier, healthier, fitter and more flexible than I have ever been.  I can't believe that after 10 years I am finally off the bodybuilding supplements and not feeling cruddy, not feeling sad, not feeling like I need them for focus, not feeling I need them for athletic performance.  I forgot what it felt like to feel so great so naturally.  I forgot how good you can feel just by taking a breath.

And guess what?

I'm even baking in 10-15 minutes daily for meditation and realizing that it really fuels and energizes me throughout the day.

My wife is so annoyed with me because I'm stopping to observe the trees, flowers, birds, really all the things that I normally would not care to notice.

I've also been taking a class through Coursera on Buddhism and Modern Psychology as well as reading some great books.  I highly recommend the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga by Deepak Chopra for anyone who wants to explore the more spiritual side of yoga.  I keep them as calendar invites for myself now so I have some wisdom to guide me through each day.

I'm actually looking forward to the juice feast even though I know it will be a challenge.

Of course I still have my weaknesses.  I still get upset, sad, angry, pervy, bored, etc. just like anyone else, but I am better able to accept those things and better able to either control them or revert to a happier norm.

Grateful for this journey and now just wondering what I do once I complete the 108 days.

Days 49 and 50 - An Ode to Hippie Chick

So there is one lady in the group I haven't discussed, but shame on me for ignoring her just because of her hippie headband and vegan crunchy granola attire.  There is a beautiful lady and wonderful yogi who doesn't get nearly as much attention from the camera as she deserves.  Sure she is not as busty as Meredith, leggy as Lauren or toned as Patty.  But overall she has the total beautiful yogi package.  She is pretty, diligent, flexible, toned and dare I say it without knowing anything about her - humble.  I know so little I haven't even found out her name like the rest.  Nevertheless, there she is in most of the workouts, quietly unassumingly being such an asset to the program.

Sadly the best pic I could find of her on the interweb...(based on a 30 sec web search)...

Source: seekretreat.com

That's her on the right in front of Travis.  Look how deep her warrior one goes! I know it's not a competition, but she is kind of putting the incredibly hot Lauren to shame in this pic.

Go hippie chick! (Scar chest is also lunging pretty deeply!)

Day 40 - So gentle and sweet

I enjoyed the gentle yoga today.  It really is hard to take a break from the hustle and bustle, but I take it as a huge step forward that I feel as alert and good as I do now despite not having the athletic morning. I had conditioned so many bad habits in my life that I truly began to believe all the negativity that I had thought.  I had created and fed myself with bad thoughts.  "I can't do it if I don't...", "I'm just not whole without...",  "I'm useless before..."

What destructive thoughts.  Now I just breathe and know that alertness and awareness will come to me.  In truth, I still struggle every morning and I still crave and miss the supplements.  The level of goodness in my day never reaches that level of excitement I had before.  The feelings of inadequacy continue to well in me.  The feelings of failure and insufficiency plague my mind, but it is a process and one I am trying to overcome.   This 108 day journey is so much more than a physical journey.  It really is a time of self-reflection.  I truly hope that this inward acceptance is the first painful step to overcoming and leading a more natural happier healthier life.

Days 37 & 38 - Balancing with Bibo

A man named Bibo came to visit.  Together we did yoga.  It was great.  Really nice to have a real life classmate.  We were both distracted by the buxom Mila Kunis lookalike (Meredith).  Why did she have to be in the front row for the balance class?  I pretty much go into an anime like nosebleed tailspin every time I see her so putting her up front and center in a balance class is a cruel distraction.

That Bibo guy was a lot more focused than I was though.

Today's strength workout was harder on him though - I'm pretty sure I heard a few "no...please..." groans coming from him.  Reminds me of my first week on the program.

I'll give a more detailed breakdown of the balance class next week, but suffice it to say, you need to do a little more than tree pose...

Given my poor hamstring flexibility and calf weakness it was probably my hardest class to date and I'm looking forward to trying it again.

Day 36 - Phase I complete

And there you have it - 36 sun salutations done.  The hardest part has been restraint.  Knowing that I could get more athletically from doing up dogs and additional push ups, but also knowing that my back would regret it later.  I've had a hard time not doing what feels right in the moment and deferring for future gain.  I was able to do it though.  Although that made the 36 "easy", the challenge really was in holding back and I'm proud to have done it.  I hope that by day 72 my back will be better and I can really push myself in the sun salutations.   The other challenging thing was that Meredith (aka hotter Mila Kunis) was wearing a very low cut top and they kept focusing on her swooping up and down in the sun salutations.  Ohhhhh Travis, how you manage to challenge us in so many different ways!!!