Ingber - Yogalosophy 28 days to the ultimate mind-body makeover

Yogalosophy

28 Days to the Ultimate Mind-Body Makeover

Copyright 2013 Mandy Ingber

Published by Seal Press

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

1700 Fourth Street

Berkeley, CA 94710

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ingber, Mandy.

Yogalosophy : 28 days to the ultimate mind-body makeover /
by Mandy Ingber.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-58005-445-4

Ebooks:

Yogalosophy: Enhanced Edition for Tablets: 978-1-58005-537-6

Yogalosophy: 978-1-58005-462-1

1. Yoga--Philosophy. 2. Physical fitness. 3. Mind and body. 4. Motion picture actors and actresses--Health and hygiene--United States. I. Title.

RA781.67.I54 2013

613.71--dc23

2012038589

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cover design by Erin Seaward-Hiatt

Interior design by Megan Cooney and Tabitha Lahr

Photographs of Mandy Ingber by Javiera Estrada Photography

Photography studio: Kinevision Studio in Venice, California

The videos included in this enhanced ebook were shot at Kinevision Studio by SmartShoot. A special thank you to Jeff Christensen and his staff for making this possible.

Printed in the United States of America

Distributed by Publishers Group West

This book is dedicated to my father.

What if I told you that you already have the perfect body?

Okay, stop rolling your eyes. I know, I know. Its hard to believe this at first, but dont close the book yet. Humor me for a moment. Just by opening this book, you have initiated the process of change.

You might have heard of Yogalosophy through magazines because of the A-list actors with healthy, fit bodies, like Jennifer Aniston and Kate Beckinsale, who use it and get results. Maybe you picked up this book because Jennifer Aniston looks so fresh and healthy, so comfortable in her own skin that youre thinking, Ill have what shes having . But what if the body you want is already in the room with you? It may just be hiding under a layer or two. This sounds radical, and it is, but when you begin to focus on your best body, which is already strong, healthy, and in shape, your body responds.

I ought to knowI have been all over the map with my relationship to my body. I have had times in my life when Ive been extremely thin, then overweight; when I have been injured and unable to perform my normal exercise routine; and times when I have worked out for hours on end. All of this has taught me that the body is a work in progress. Since I designed and began following this course in positive reinforcement, which I call Yogalosophy, fifteen years ago, I have never had a major weight fluctuation.

But conceptualizing and practicing Yogalosophy didnt come easily. Before that, there was a period of time when I went through a lot of stressful stuff all at once. Id been injured, and then, on top of that, I was physically assaulted by random attackers and was beaten so severely I required two surgeries. The pain and trauma were a lot to handle. I had already used food as a way to cope in the past, so I ate unconsciously and gained an excessive amount of weightIm talking fifty pounds, which on a five-foot-four frame qualifies as a lot. I didnt want to deal with anybody or anything. As a signal to the rest of the world to stay away, I started wearing pajamas wherever I went. Even footy pajamas. I kid you not. Yes. Instead of clothes. Even on a trip through Europe, it was in PJs.

One night, after the Italy section of my European feeding frenzy, I hit a point where I realized I felt extremely heavy and uncomfortable in my skin. It was then that the thought came to me that I was ready to lose weightId hit my limit; I was no longer able to sustain this level of discomfort. Since the weight gain, Id avoided looking at myself, so I took off the pajamas I had worn to dinner and stood naked, eyes closed, in front of the mirror. I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and looked at myself for the first time in a long time. Only, I did not cast a judgmental glare upon myself. I looked with love and acceptance. Yes, there were folds of skin in places that had never been touching before, more chub around my arms and on my belly and all over my body, but it hit me that I still had the body I desired; it was just hiding underneath a couple of layers.

I kept that vision and began to focus on the perfect body that was already in the room with me... just hiding. And I began to talk positively to myself, instead of ignoring or beating myself up. Thats how I started to break the pattern of self-sabotage that caused me to gain almost forty percent of my body mass: The voice that used to tell me its not good enough or it used to be better was replaced with a coach that would breathe and take it one encouraging moment at a time. Choosing what a healthy, thin person would choose, instead of giving up as I had.

Ultimately, I took my lessons and began teaching them to others, including those celebrities with the enviable bodies. Everything I learned and continue to teach them is in this book. I designed Yogalosophy: 28 Days to the Ultimate Mind-body Makeover as an action plan to repattern your habits, to develop new, positive self-talk, and help you to channel your emotions. Youll see that I also refer to this handbook, this way of life, as the Y28 Revolution. Youll find here all the stuff thats helped meand my studentsachieve healthy, fit bodies and fulfilling (self-loving) lives. This Y28 Revolution started with my body, but it is the same formula that has allowed me to accomplish my dreams.

Yogalosophy is more than just yoga, because yoga is only one of its modalities. In this program, youll be using many different activities combined with yoga postures to tone your body and to feel better in general. I give you options, because if youre like me, no one thing feels right all the time. There are so many incredible ways to get into shape, and Ive tried most of them. I coined the term Yogalosophy as a way to explain how I fuse it all together. Think of it as an attitude about uniting all the parts of yourself, a life approach inspired by the word yoga , which means union and losophy which means knowledge. Yogalosophers bring the yoga practice of mindfulness and intention-setting into whatever they do. In this program, you only have to do one thing that is really, really hard. If you can do this one thing, you will be able to have what you want:

Accept your body as already perfect.

Dont believe it yet? I know. Its the most challenging thing in the book. I still go through times when I resist the idea of accepting myself the way I am, because Im afraid if I accept something it will stay that way forever. The old thought process wants me to believe that if I accept myself, I wont be motivated to make change. What Ive found is that when I really accept things as they are, I have choices. The truth is, nothing ever stays the same. Everything changes over time, right? Now, I understand I have a part in the direction I want change to go.