To yoga or not to yoga?

That is the burning question.

I understand the idea of doing yoga along with eating raw has been off-putting, challenging, impossible, downright scary for some of you.

And, I'm here to tell you, you don't need to do yoga. Nope, not at all. Not even half a downward facing dog, or a quarter of a lotus. Nothing.

Yoga does not have to be in your life if you don't want it to be.

Whew - huge weight off the shoulders for some of you. You can breathe easily now.

I chose this plan that included yoga simply because...

1) I knew the teacher and so I trusted the information

2) I thought daily yoga would be a good way to help me keep focus

You see, yoga is what I live for (okay, maybe I'm overstating a little), it's my poison, it's my drug, it's my morning coffee when I can't have coffee. I just love yoga, it makes me feel alive and healthy and strong....... (and un-coordinated, and fat, and un-supple and crazy)... and for the good and the bad, it's just what I like to do.

But you really don't have to do it to change your life.

What you do have to do if you want to get fitter and healthier is move. Yup, you heard me - move. It doesn't matter if is bowling, badminton, basketball, bobsledding, back country skiing or basket weaving (okay, I ran out of B exercises), just move more than you normally do.

Swim if you like to swim, dance if you love to dance, walk if you love to walk. Do it at the gym, around your neighbourhood, at the local YWCA, at your friend's house or in the privacy of your own four walls.

It doesn't matter what you do or where you do it. Just get that body movin' and shakin' and jigglin' and wigglin'.

I met a group of people when I lived in the States. And I have to admit, I laughed at them at first (bad me).

I must have been living under a rock, because I had never heard of this, but they would go to a huge shopping mall before opening hours, all decked out in tracksuits and trainers and they would walk and walk around the mall.

What I realised later was that they were all people who felt vulnerable in their neighbourhoods. They were either older, or infirm, or female and they felt that it was unsafe to walk alone around their area, so they walked around a mall where there was security and people and stuff happening. And they would go round and round on their circuit until they had enough.

Every day.

I think that's great. It's clever, it's safe and it's cheap. It shows that their really is no excuse to not get out there and just do it.

Now, if you do this, don't go walk around during peak hours when you will be fighting mom's, babies and groups of teenagers. Go when it's quiet. Oh, and stopping every 10 steps to check out the merchandise doesn't count either. You have to stay focused and walk and get your heart pumping.

Yes, stay focused.

And find something you love. Find an exercise that makes you happy. And do it.

It doesn't have to be yoga.

(Photo - mine)

Inspiration

Well, it's just over a week since I finished the challenge and I've just come down from my sugar high!

Just kidding. I've been pretty good.

I think.

I won't lie, I did have the poached eggs I was craving and I also had a piping hot pizza with delicious melted cheese all over it. And you know what... It wasn't that exciting. It felt heavy and over-salted and a little like a big dead weight in my stomach.
I certainly didn't feel like I was eating the most wonderful thing in the world. And trust me, when I started this challenge, I thought that if you removed pizza from my life entirely I might just die.

What I have noticed is one thing that is AMAZING. When I eat cooked food, it tastes dead. I know, that's a very harsh term, but it's the only way I can describe it. When I was only eating raw, I didn't notice that the food felt particularly alive, but once I mixed it up, cooked food tasted somewhat bland, dead and simply not full of goodness.

That's super exciting for me, because if I can remember that taste and those feelings, it's incentive to keep feeding my body with healthy, alive food.

Raw food just bursts with goodness when you eat it. And, the more you tip the balance in that direction, the better it tastes and the worse processed food tastes. It really does. You'll have to trust me.

I also have not had any coffee - yay, can you see my halo from where you are sitting? You should be able to.

I don't know how that has happened, but the minute I woke up after the challenge I did not run downstairs and brew the biggest pot of coffee I could. I just haven't bothered. I've stuck to my green and peppermint tea - peppermint is my favourite, yum.

But, all that aside. The real reason for this post today, is because I want to thank everyone for all their support.
All you guys around the world who have left comments, or asked questions, or left me messages on other message boards and blogs (yup, I've had a hard time finding some of those, but I think I've got them all)....

Your words and your kind congratulations have encouraged me to stick with this. Many of you have said I've inspired you (wow, humbled) and I want you to know that you are inspiring me.

You really are.

So let's keep doing that. Inspiring each other.
And the world will turn a whole lot smoother. Actually I'm not sure how it will affect the whole world, but it will make my world turn smoother.

I am listening to your questions and your concerns and this is what I'm going to do. I'll actually address them. Yikes, I know.

Well, I'll answer them if I can. Or I'll just make something up.

But I'll tell you if I'm making it up.

Over the next while, I will go through what I'm trying to eat daily (I still can't give you recipes from the book because of copyright and all that you understand), but what I'm going to try and do is continue to experiment with recipes that are freely available.

If I find recipes I like, I'll post them.

Now remember, I'm not promoting anyone, or being sponsored by anyone, so anything I post is just because my taste buds liked it. Yours may not. But, on Pink Passion Flower, my taste buds rule. That's how it's going to work.

So, if you have questions, ask away. Trust me, I'm learning along with you.