I Had No Idea Yoga Would Do This to My Body

I lecture my mom about yoga every time I question her about her health and what she’s doing to stay active. Her response has always been “yoga.” And my reply has always been “yoga doesn’t do anything. You need to do more.” You know, like get your heart rate up. Evidently, I’m wrong. Way wrong. More wrong than I have ever been before. I never knew how much visiting mariannewells.com would change my life… AND MY BODY!

Yoga is something I used to scoff at if it wasn’t hot yoga – the kind that takes place in 105 degree room. Where you sweat buckets from beginning to end. And I do mean buckets…I wring out my shirt when the class concludes.

I have always thought of yoga as a non workout. Certainly not something an athlete would choose to do for their daily exercise. Sure, it might feel good, it’s good for your mind, it’s non intensive and it’s relaxing. What kind of workout is that?! Not one that I’d like to take part in. When I workout, I want to workout. I want to feel like I’ve done something. Right?….wrong.

Peloton Yoga

I have been taking yoga classes at Peloton since April, anywhere from 3-4x a week. And sometimes double classes. That’s 4 months of something I’d never thought I’d do, and definitely not as consistently as I’m doing it. And, boy, the results shocked me.

After a yoga class, sometimes I felt the need to go to the gym in order to feel like I actually got a workout in. Yoga felt easy to me (I mean, except for the super expert poses like Fallen Angel or Bound Side Crow which I wouldn’t dare to try).

I rarely sweat during class, and if I do, I’m ecstatic afterwards because; sweating=a good workout. Or, so I thought.

I went to the beach with a friend. We were goofing off and decided to take a few pics right before we left. Impromptu and quick. Like spin 3x, quick. When she sent me the photos, I was shocked. Like, wait, this is my body? Couldn’t be. I was still hitting the weights, taking cardio classes and running. I felt bloated that day and thought that I wasn’t do anything more than I normally had before. Except, yoga.

The Transformation

Yoga has transformed my body. I’ve always wanted to have toned arms. I now have somewhat toned arms. My abs are more defined than they have ever been before. My leg muscles are coming through and can see the definition in pictures. All of these things are new for my body. I’m stronger, leaner and more defined.

Spoiler Alert

I do still have my cellulite (that ain’t going nowhere!) and my legs still rub together and chafe like it’s nobodies business. (Thank God for Megabae – the anti chafe stick). But I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I never imagined tons of downward dogs, chaturangas and sun salutations would ever morph my body into what it looks like today. Give yoga a try. It might transform your body as well!

Also-food is a major factor as well. That’s next time on MeridethMorgan.com!

Side Note: I love yoga and what it’s done to my body. But I still believe that you should do more than just yoga. I still think you need to get your heart rate up and get some cardio and weight lifting in. But yoga is without question, something that should be incorporated into your weekly workouts! It’s definitely a game changer if you do it frequently and often enough!

*If you download the Peloton app, you can take classes from home on your tablet, computer or phone! If you’re ever in the New York City area, you can pop into a class at their yoga studio located at 152 Christopher St, New York, NY 10014!