| Yoga Exercises for Ideal Weight and Ideal Shape | | | | This is disempowering because it robs you of the |
| What is ideal weight? How can you tell whether or not | | | | opportunity to exercise your inner knowledge; your |
| you are at your Ideal weight? And is your ideal weight | | | | inner wisdom. |
| realistic for your body type or based on some | | | | Yoga is all about cultivating your internal evaluation and |
| unattainable ideal flaunted in fashion magazines? Is | | | | motivation system, based on how you feel and what |
| your image of ideal weight more about an ideal shape | | | | you deem appropriate and desirable. Added to this is |
| - one which may not have any bearing to the actual | | | | an inner strength and willpower generated through |
| shape of the body you were born into? | | | | Yoga practice. |
| Is ideal weight or shape a personal, inner-referenced | | | | In Yoga, ideal body weight and shape are considered |
| experience, or something determined from outside | | | | natural byproducts of health. For this reason, the |
| yourself? Is it something you can feel or is it based on | | | | question of what is ideal body weight naturally leads to |
| the opinion of others, or cultural, societal ideals, or | | | | a broader question of what is health and how to |
| tables that tell you what your ideal weight should be in | | | | cultivate it. The order of importance in the process of |
| relation to your height, weight or fat percentage? | | | | moving toward ideal weight is health first, which |
| Yoga is a training ground for inner-referenced | | | | determines how you feel and extends to how you |
| awareness, starting in Hatha Yoga, with attention to | | | | look. This offers a sustainable solution: the stronger |
| the body in various Yoga postures, and moving | | | | your feeling of health and wellbeing, the stronger your |
| beyond this to naturally meeting your attitudes toward | | | | self esteem. |
| yourself and your life. For this reason, from a Yogic | | | | This, in turn, makes you less likely to allow criticism |
| perspective, ideal weight is not seen as a specific, | | | | (your own, or other people's) of your body, based on |
| measurable number or amount relative to height, age | | | | unrealistic ideals, to undermine your ability to focus on |
| or fat percentage, or any other means of determining | | | | attaining good health. In good health, your |
| your weight from a source outside yourself. | | | | attractiveness and beauty shine through. And once |
| This would mean deeming outside sources as experts | | | | you have achieved good health, you may discover |
| over and above yourself, with these outer sources | | | | that you are within a healthy weight range. |
| determining what is acceptable for you and your body. | | | | |