Corinne DeCost

Since I moved away from my old beloved yoga place, I’ve gotten out of the habit. I had many excuses – directing a show, adopting a puppy, having a 2nd degree burn on my hand, but now, I’m done with all that. I’m ready to start back up again, and to feel better about myself.

My Weight Journey

I currently weigh ~126 pounds. On my 5’2″ frame, above 135 is considered overweight. My highest weight, freshman year of high school, was 139. The summer after that, through calorie counting and exercise, I dropped down to 123. I fluctuated after that, and graduated high school at 118.

At my skinniest, I was 115. This was sophomore year of college. I was more active then (gym 4-5 times a week), with much better eating habits. My frame was entirely different, and I felt much more confident in my own skin.

Please ignore the bizarre picture taken at an MIT frat house, but I think that’s the best representation of how tiny I really was then. 11 pounds really is a lot on my frame.

11 pounds is equal to 33,000 calories I didn’t need to eat. I really gained most of it in the course of a single year, and that only adds up to about 100 calories a day that I didn’t need. It really does happen quickly.

The Yoga Challenge:

For me, a good yoga instructor makes or breaks the practice. I found immediate joy in discovering Yoga with Adriene on Youtube. Her videos are friendly, informative, and – to my joy – encourage taking your practice into your own hands. And, cleverly, she does NOT have any music in the background of her instruction. If you prefer music in your practice (as I do), you can play is softly in the background without distracting from her videos.

Yoga with Adriene’s 30 Day Yoga Challenge playlist can be found here.

I have modified the challenge for my own efforts, as I prefer an hour long yoga workout and to spend some time dedicated to certain areas. As a former competition dancer, and a yogi of almost a year, I’ve been choosing a second video of hers to complete after my challenge. But, if you’re new to the practice, a half hour should be plenty to get you started!

Day 1:

I’m taking selfies of me on the mat to hold myself accountable. Here is selfie #1.

I started with Day 1 (as you would), and followed with Yoga for Upper Back pain, as I had been experiencing tension in that area – likely due to my desk job.

I noticed almost immediately after getting onto the mat that I had been carrying a lot of tension. My neck made a lot of noise as I did head circles. I struggled a little in plank. I hadn’t lost any of my previous flexibility (if I did, it was minute enough for me not to notice), which I was happy with. But, it was clear that I had been away from the practice for  bit.

It’s the morning of Day 2, and I’m excited to get back on the mat. It was incredibly refreshing to be in tune with my own body and practice mindfulness.

I’ve got to say – it sure is nice to get back into the groove at NO cost to myself. A happy self, and a happy wallet – what more could a girl want?