Of the many yoga courses available, on tapes, DVDs, videos, etc. (many of which I own), my favorite for re-introducing my body to the benefits of yoga is Richard Hittleman’s 28-Day Exercise Plan. No matter what the state of my present physical decay, this 28-day plan is by far the easiest both to follow and the easiest on the body. It was first published in 1969. I purchased my first copy in 1976, and I’m still convinced it’s the best starting point and introduction to yoga (next to personal instruction, of course).

I was once more or less ‘addicted’ to exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Perhaps that is the reason that I’ve always had the appearance of being at least 10 years younger than my actual age. But it seems that with age, the willpower loses strength and resiliency from lack of use, as surely as does the physical house. Today, I am fast beginning to LOOK middle-aged, and am beginning to FEEL even older. I’m presently about 40 lbs too heavy for my small frame, and I can’t even climb a flight of stairs without becoming severely winded. Because of my small bones and my flat feet, my excess weight has caused an extrememly painful condition in my feet called Plantar Fasciitis, which undermines my ability to do the very thing I NEED to do (EXERCISE) to correct this series of spiraling mechanical failures.

My diet intake yesterday was a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, an orange for lunch, and 1.5 grilled pork chops w/1/2 cup cabbage/mushroom/onion mixture lightly sauteed in olive oil. I ate 1.5 cups of Cherrios with a little over 1/3 cup 1% milk before going to bed. My fluid intake consisted of 4 cups of coffee in the am, 40 oz of herbal teas, and 2 low carb beers -- I know, I know, this area calls for considerate improvement -- I'm working on it...really, I AM! (Though this may seem rather boring, it is in keeping with my committment to accountability with respect to the sojourner’s journey toward a healthier state of being.)

I also worked out on the Gazelle glider for 10 mins last night, which seems pretty pathetic really. But in my current physical and emotional state, my intent is to progress very slowly, so as to avoid discouragement and subsequent failure. And though I attempted to get my heart rate up as much as possible during that short time, it seemed more a challenge just to stay on my feet for that length of time, as the pain from my foot condition was horrific.

I followed that feeble attempt at aerobic exercise with Day 1 of the 28-Day Plan of yoga exercises. It consists of only 3 exercises, but, as noted in the opening words of the ‘thoughts for the day,’ "Today’s exercises will provide a good indication as to how stiff, tight and tense you may have grown in many ‘key’ points of your body..." these 3 simple exercises are tremedously revealing. Judging by how difficult the exercises were for me, it’s a wonder I’m not in a wheelchair -- my level of movement was more comparable to rigamortice than mere stiffness.

It is interesting how once the process of decay/destruction begins, it literally feeds off itself until the destruction is complete. This domino effect of the overall breakdown of mechanisms makes it increasingly difficult to halt, much less reverse it, in midstream, but it IS POSSIBLE. The longer the breakdown is allowed to progress, the more difficult it becomes to turn the tide.

Being a ‘free spirit,’ I do, by nature, find the concept of discipline very unpleasant. And although discipline can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, it, like most things, still needs to be exercised from a BALANCED persective. Finding the ‘balance’ to ANYthing has never been my expertise. I am a person given to extremes -- I tend to see things in black and white, right and wrong, good and bad, all or nothing. But the daily experience of life DEMANDS balance between these extremes -- to remain UNbalanced leaves us out of sync within ourselves, our relationships and our environment. Hence, I press on to regain syncronization within my own personal universe. Yesterday was a good beginning.