Week 9

Down 1.8 (21.4 lbs total)

I had a satisfying food week. I got to drink champagne (quite a lot of it) and eat yummy snacks at book club, I got to cook some great Cuban stew and drink Martinis one evening, then I got to bring the stew to our monthly pot-luck at work and sample all of the Caribbean and Mexican inspired goodies. I used all but 10 of my weekly slush points.

However, I was not able to exercise this week, my hip joints hurt and my back twinges every now and then just to remind me that I'm decrepit. I had planned on going to Restorative Yoga tonight but my body isn't ready yet - I'll aim for the Tuesday lunch-time practice and let the teacher know that I need to protect my lower back much better than I have been doing.

I miss yoga for more than just the exercise, I really love the meditative quality, the looking-inward that takes place as soon as you begin. I've never been a very spiritual person but I feel spiritual when the journey inward goes hand-in-hand with a connection to a deep pool of calm and kindness. I love the sensation of the other beings in the room, all breathing deeply and reflectively - all of them, for that brief hour, unselfconscious, non-judgmental.