I struggled with my body image as a teenager. And no matter how much I starved myself, and how many hours I logged in the gym I was still on the plumb side. I felt uncomfortable wearing tight clothes and mostly wore baggy stuff, which made me look even fatter. It affected my relationships at school. I was timid and scared of interacting. My moods would swing from elation to total despair. Getting thin became an obsession. I guess, I was not the only one.

Most of the girls in my class were experiencing similar issues, so we teamed up to experiment with diets, exercise and what not. And we tried it all – diets, boxing, jogging, swimming, rope skipping. We knew it was all about making conscious life style changes. And we did, but it was a semi-weekly martial arts training that really did the job.

Our teacher was a Buddhist monk from Vietnam who always made us meditate at the beginning of class. He would ask us to focus on the breath and to pay attention to every sensation in the body, and to then open up the lens to feeling out surroundings, the energy of the people in the group. It was the path of “mindfulness” that led us to relive every simple action and thing for the first time. I loved cultivating this “beginners mind” for it helped me rediscover ordinary wonders, like shifting the weight in space, feeling the touch of my skin against the wooden floor, sensing the sun that beamed on my shoulders through the window.

All this opened me to wider scope of sensitivities and perceptions and when I left the studio, I only felt like sipping tea or munching on a banana. Slowly my sugar cravings disappeared. I cut on bread and excess dairy. I also tried to be mindful about the pace of eating. I was such a fast eater before, and still struggle with this until today, but when I become conscious of the food I am ingesting and grateful for it, things instantly change. I eat smaller portions and feel satisfied just by smelling the fruit that I hold.

I could not figure it back then, because I was too young, and too result oriented, but today, I realize that this mindfulness meditation, together with the isometric resistance based stretches and cardio work-out that the training provided, not only fixed my weight for good, but made me appreciate the shape and curves of my body, just as it was. I suddenly, felt at home in my own skin and everything in my life improved – from my relationships to my grades. I became more focused, more accepting, more appreciative and definitely more patient – a virtue that was never a part of my internal make-up. I now understand that this simple ten-minute meditation before the training had incentivized the brain to rewire itself and to retune my body’s circuitry – helping me modify my eating habits and other behaviors.

I still recall my master’s words “Our bodies are temples, and they are never one way or another, they are perfectly fitted for our mission. It is not about fitting the body into a standard shape (something that I was trying to do), it is about loving your curvature, shape and radiance for it is meticulously designed to help you learn your lessons in life. It’s not a straightforward relationship – it’s curved, it’s bendy and flexible like the bamboo shoot. Bamboos are never straight, because straight lines don’t exist. They always curve somewhere in the distance…“

Yes, he was damn right! To be as strong and supple as the bamboo was the secret to living your perfect body image. This is precisely what I try to teach my students who are struggling to loose weight. It is not about losing weight, counting calories, seating through grueling workouts. It is more about tossing out the old adage that biology is destiny in favor of consciousness as destiny.

Today, when someone asks me for weight loss yoga, I tend to divert their awareness to weight bearing yoga. This is not necessarily the interval fitness approach, where the variety of engaged muscle groups and the intensity modulation are not key. This is a fat-burning yoga approach that utilizes the power of isometric resistance based asana coupled with pulsing and reps to hike up the metabolic rate and relearn the body to burn fat through static poses performed with minor undulations. Apart from the isometric-powered asana, the mindfulness meditation that I learnt more than 30 years ago plays an integral role in the program. I believe, people eat because of emotion and physical hunger. As you expand your awareness of what’s going on in your body you are less likely to get stressed out, and use food as a coping mechanism.

As a fast eater, I always gulped my food in less than five minutes, and of course that made me eat much more than I actually needed. Cultivating awareness of your stomach is so vital, and it is one of the best strategies for healthy weight-loss. If we could cultivate that ability to eat only when we are hungry and not because our mind is tempted, then we would eat much less and more of the right things. Also, stress is another factor that should be taken into account when trying to loose weight. The high stress level of our hyped up world, keeps us in fight or flight mode. When we’re stressed, steroids release and increase our belly fat – simply because the body interprets chronic stress as famine. But meditation counteracts this response. Rather than stressing you out. It actually soothes your nerves and averts that extra belly fat.

Sustainable weight loss is not about tricking or forcing your body to be thin. It’s about changing your body from the inside out so your body actually likes itself and wants to be naturally thin. Getting there is not linear. It is a versatile approach integrating the right nutrition, exercise and mindfulness. It thrives on the notion, that indeed “straight lines don’t exist, they always curve somewhere in the distance”. Feel the creases where your lines curve, ah, what a joy, what a release!

Weight-loss & Fat Burning Yoga Routine: Slender Curves (beginners level)

This Yogea routine based on resistance stretching and isometric contractions helps burn excess fat in your body – keeping you slender and fit. Side plank twists help you tone the oblique abdominals and rev up your digestion. Standing shoulder openers alternate with balancing scales to promote stamina and strength. Reclining hip-openers pulse through deep abdominal contractions and lateral twists to tone the abs and trim your waist-line. Arm-balancing lifts and intercostal twists pair with one-legged perched twists to further stabilize the core and stimulate the production of “leptin” – the fat burning hormone. Alternating between squats and metatarsal lifts help you shed excess. A series of forearm planks and twisted lateral vaults cement your abs while keeping them supple and toned. The routine winds down with poses to firm up and then release the belly. A soothing forward followed by a nourishing relaxation cools you down and Zens you out.