It takes months and years to put on 3 to 30 kilos. The body is not under shock when you put on weight because you do not double or triple your food intake and become sedentary in life suddenly. So the effect is not felt immediately. It is only in the long run, that you start feeling the effects of putting on weight. Acceptance of the problem [of putting on weight] is the beginning of weight loss. The body gets conditioned into specific habits which lead to this point. So the most important thing is to lose an old habit and replace it with a beneficial one. This is an art.
The art of losing habits is the key to weight loss. Habits are neural patterns or deep rooted patterns in the brain which are linked up to the sensory experiences of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. So our likes are based on what we see, hear, taste and so on, and they further become habits. They are patterns guided by the brain. When you try to change a habit forcefully by denying something you are used to, the brain cannot handle it. It’s a very threatening situation for the brain when it is challenged to make drastic changes. So as a mother weans a child in the process of growing up, we have to wean the brain off these habits through similar compassion, positivity and patience. You have to be happy while doing it otherwise you cannot succeed. You will end up feeling miserable and unable to sustain any change in the long term.
A holistic approach must be adopted when it comes to weight loss. A regime which will allow to create a new range of sensory experiences to gently and voluntarily change your whole palette of likes and dislikes, working backwards from your senses to a create new set of neural patterns in your brain. This sounds easy but is a very delicate and deep process. This is part of the science of kaya kalpa or age reversal devised by yogis. The approach of kaya kalpa is one of creating a no-stress environment for the change to happen. It is only in this environment of trust that the doors of the unconscious open up to change.
In conclusion of my series on weight loss, here is a summary of tips over the last six weeks.
1. Start drinking 3.5 to 5 litres of water every day
2. Practise 5 minutes of deep breathing, two to five times a day.
3. Keep walking every 1-2 hours for five minutes. If that is not possible, go for 30 minute walk in the morning and evening.
4. Practise 8-10 rounds of sun salutations after walk. Learn the correct way from a professional before commencing.
5. Sit in vajrasana soon after lunch and dinner for two minutes.
6. Drink a shot of wheatgrass juice early morning.
7. After 20 minutes of lunch, drink a glass of hot water with lemon.
8. Add nuts to the diet, five-six almonds and five-six walnuts every day. If one is allergic to nuts, please avoid.
Introduce yoga in your life. Yoga is about breaking your habits, not the body.
Practice of the week:
Bhujangasana
Dhanurasana
Halasana
Adho Mukha Sukhasana
