The Practice

The daily practice will take approximately half an hour each morning after you become familiar with the routine. It is important you do it each morning even if ill. If you don’t get enough sleep, still get up early enough to do the practice. If, for some reason, you can’t do it immediately upon waking, do it as soon thereafter as possible. If by chance you come out of a daydream and realize you’ve missed a day, get started again right away. This is your chance for a new life.

You don’t need much space. On the floor beside the bed, in the kitchen, on the lawn — anywhere there’s enough space to lie down flat with your arms and legs spread and stand up with the arms extended above your head will do. A designated space is good, but don’t let any little irregularity upset your practice. You don’t need any tools. You carry everything you need with you everywhere you go.

Think of the effort and expense people go to: seeing hypnotists, counselors, diet doctors and personal trainers and joining weight loss clubs and gyms. How many diet books are published each year? What invasive, expensive medical procedures are you being offered, and at what risk? Think of the clothing you wear because you are overweight, the opportunities you’ve missed, and the multitude of daily inconveniences you suffer every hour of every day. Think of the way society would have you feel about yourself if you hadn’t already developed an iron will. Yoga is going to work for you, because you are motivated to make it work.

Weight Loss Through Yoga, Jewel in the Lotus — page 13