THIS WAS THE FIRST POST ON MY HABITUAL RITUAL PAGE - FOR ALL ARCHIVED POSTS, LOOK TO LEFT TEAL-COLORED COLUMN AND YOU WILL SEE MORE POSTS! As many of you know, I have been on a 'hot yoga' journey for the last four (4) months, since April 5, 2017 and have been posting on Facebook little daily snippets of my progress. Everyday I feel like there is so much to tell you, but instead I sit in the parking lot and give you the 'Flash Gordon' version. It came to me last night during class that what I should be doing is essentially blogging about it so I can teach you other things along the way. So every single day after class, I will sit here and crank out a new update. First I want to explain the Astrology behind the name of this section and the graphics. I don't do anything on accident because I'm a fairly on purpose individual. In fact, fairly is putting it mildly.

The reason why I chose to call this section my 'Daily Habitual Ritual' is because I am a North Node Virgo, South Node Pisces, Sun in Gemini with a Capricorn Moon. Virgo rules physical health, daily routine, habits and activities that require 'participation', while Pisces rules yoga, meditation, spiritualism, reflection, ritual and solitude. Virgo = habitual and Pisces = Ritual. In order for me to stay focused on my North Node Virgo, which as you may know is where 'the cup runneth over,' I have to get out in the world and participate and engage in the activity with others, not hole up in my home and do it alone. If I use this 'yogi' energy in my work and bring it to you as 'the doctor,' which is also ruled by Virgo, then yoga will work for me. I just cannot go it 'alone'. I have to be with the people (my yoga tribe). Also, notice there are two people in the graphic. That symbolizes the Gemini in me, which consists of me, and the other me. Me and Her! The Scripture reminds me to stand in integrity and heal myself before I start thumping the healthy word to you. I feel that my Moon in Capricorn is revealed in the entire name as Capricorn reflects discipline, responsibility, structure, stability and will obey orders.

If you just gaze around the perimeter of this website you will see this entire site plays to my North and South Node. This is precisely why I have so many 'Daily' things because it caters to my North Node Virgo. The 'Activities of Daily Living' is so Virgo. The recipes are 'detailed measurements' which is Virgo. The moving meditations are Pisces. Even though we cannot get away from our South Node, we can USE IT to reach our North Node. This is why I can use 'hot yoga' as part of my daily routine that gets me out of the house participating with others. Back in the day when I had my women's clinic I use to have my personal yoga instructor come to my office 5 days a week for 90 minutes. WRONG! You will see spirituality all over this website (Pisces) but bringing to you in the 'daily' fashion that I do appeals to my North Node. Daily, Daily, Daily, Daily cannot be said enough for someone like me. So when I go to yoga, I go twice daily, one class for me and one class for the other me. (Gemini, LOL)

To make a long story short, and to catch others up to speed, over the past couple of years I spent more time alone working and not doing much of anything else. I was holed up in my office alone (South Node Pisces), which is the worst thing a North Node Virgo should do because we are suppose to participate in Life and get out there and join the world in activities of daily living. I ended up gaining 42 lbs. There I said it! I gained 42 whopping pounds, which is why no one was seeing any full body pictures of me anymore. I was embarrassed. I won't deny I have a big ego (Mars in Leo) but I'm also capable of calling that ego out! I went from 152 lbs. (I'm 5'8") to a whopping 194 lbs. I can't believe I'm typing this outloud for everyone to see. It took about 3-1/2 months from April 5, 2017 to mid-July 2017 to shed 30 lbs. I don't know what size I was, but I was BIG! I found myself in the black-stretch-pant-group because I didn't want to buy clothes bigger than my size 6's or 8's. I definitely couldn't wear anything with zippers, snaps or buttons. I was miserable, tired and cold all the time. I slept in my coat and two pair of hiking socks. I was miserable, tired, embarrassed, cranky and quite frankly, I was a bitch. God bless the Scorpion King, huh? I was losing interest in this website, I was bored and sick and tired of being sick and tired. I didn't want to type one more thing and seriously considered shutting it all down.

Then last November 2016 I read my Solar Return Report that I wrote 7 months earlier and it was like I suddenly had a V8. My eyes were opened and I knew what the problem was that was making me to tired, depressed, lazy, lethargic, pitiful, heavy, etc. I mean my eyes opened and everything changed in the blink of an eye. Literally! That's when I knew I had to offer the reports to all of you. I was able to pull myself out this chair and I made certain that I worked out everyday. I would row or get on the stationary bike for one hour everyday. In the meantime I was still planted in my office chair about 12 hours a day. It was still awful. The amount of time spent walking into the next room to get on the stationary bike or go to the gym and row was not enough to make up for the amount of butt time I was putting in. From November 2016 until April 2017 (6 months) I had only lost 3 lbs. Seriously! And why would I have lost any more weight because I was still sitting on my butt for 12 more hours and sleeping the rest. One hour a day was not enough to give me back my metabolism. Food was not the problem, it was movement. VIRGO ENERGY! I was all up in my South Node alone and I was not participating in Life, outside the confines of my home. Pisces is confining. ARRGGGGHHH! Then my friend Kellie texted me one day and said she was opening a new hot yoga studio. I told her I would definitely support her new venture because I am like that with my friends. So she opened the yoga studio, I showed up and I have been going to two classes nearly every single day since April 5, 2017 (she opened on April 2, 2017).

At this point I have probably lost more than 30 lbs. I stopped weighing because now my weight doesn't matter. What mattered to me is that I was able to get back into my size 8's and it looks like the 6's are going to be a go at some point. I eat the same as I always did. In this house we don't eat boxed, packaged, canned, refined, baked or processed food anyway, so that pretty much knocks carbs, gluten and crud out of the diet. I cook everything, I garden and grow a lot of my own herbs and create my own seasonings. Some of my recipes are on this website. I don't drink alcohol (thank God) so that saves me calories too. (winky wink)

All I can say at this point is, "Yoga not only saved my Life, it saved my soul." I was miserable being fat. I won't act like I wasn't fat because I was. I could feel it going up any stairs, I could feel it getting out of the car, I could feel it in a seat at the hockey game, I could feel it everywhere.

I know these things happen to the best of us without even realizing it. Suddenly we find ourselves in a health crisis and wonder how it happened. Oh I had a health situation alright, I even had to get a biopsy back in November 2016 on this 'thing' that was discovered that I will write about at another time. Interestingly enough, I have had my share of injuries and issues since I started 'hot yoga' back on April 5, 2017 but I refuse to let anything stop me from showing up on my mat. I will tell you about the injuries another time, most of you may already know I was practicing yoga with a dislocated shoulder and a back spasm. I don't like to give these things too much attention, instead preferring to forge ahead, modify and do what I can do when I can do it. (Silent Sufferer South Node Pisces) During my injuries I just tell myself that I am going to 'hot yoga' even if I just go lay on my mat, but by golly I'm going.

Now that I have this initial page posted, I will be coming back everyday to post after each class and I pretty much go to two (2) classes per day. So you will see a post, then you will see an additional post later in the day after my next class. This is going to fun and I guarantee, you are going to be seeing a lot more of me (images) on these pages. And how interesting is it that this entire transformation of my website and the entire transformation of my physical body that led to my yoga practice and this page being birthed is all a direct result of my Solar Return Report. When's it's the Truth, it shows up everywhere!

by Dr. Loretta Standley
www.facebook.com/drlorettastandley
www.facebook.com/PoseitivelyYoga
About Dr. Standley

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