You can eliminate the Roly Poly Factor from your yoga practice with a lot of hard work.
When I got home from my British vacation and all those marvellous English Breakfasts, I discovered that I had acquired the Roly Poly Factor and that my yoga practice suffered as a result of this.
I modified a lot of my yoga poses to accommodate the Roly Poly Factor but it is now time to take some action and eliminate it from my life.
What is the Roly Poly factor
A Roly Poly is a kid’s toy that looks like a clown. It has an extremely large middle and when you push it over it will move part way toward the floor and then it will move back up to vertical. Its very large middle is what prevents it from falling over and laying on the floor.
My Roly Poly factor was very similar to that toy. I had developed a very large middle. I had gained about 10 pounds during my trip and it had all settled in my abdomen. While I was not as large around as the Roly Poly toy, it certainly was a problem for my yoga practice.
Why is the Roly Poly factor a problem
Not only were my clothes not fitting as well as they used to, my yoga practice was suffering.
There are three areas that are affected by the Roly Poly factor.
- Forward Folds
- Twists
- Backbends
Forward Folds
When you fold forward in any of the many forward bends you will discover that your Roly Poly middle is getting in the way and preventing you from going as far into the pose as you used to.
Twists
All twists will be a problem but twists where you are turning torso towards your raised thigh like in Marichyasana C will be particularly difficult. Now you will have all of that extra stuff around your middle that you will have to get out of the way before you can complete your twists.
There are three things you can do to eliminate the Roly Poly Factor:
— Eat less
— Exercise more
— Pay attention to feedback from your body
Backbends
There is a group of back bending postures that you do with your belly on the floor. These poses will be even more uncomfortable as your Roly Poly belly is compressed into your abdominal organs and your spine.
As you can see the Roly Poly Factor has a lot of impact on your yoga practice. But there is good news. You can eventually eliminate it.
How to eliminate the Roly Poly factor
There are three things you can do to eliminate the Roly Poly Factor:
- Eat less
- Exercise more
- Pay attention to feedback from your body
The easiest one of these to work on first is the eating less.
1 – Eat less
While I was on the bus tour it was a lot of fun to eat all of those meals. Sampling different food everyday. Now it is time to get back to reality.
I weaned myself off of the large portion sizes that I was eating on the trip. I switched to a smaller plate size. I put less on my smaller plate as well. I stayed away from fatty foods as best as I could.
All of these actions helped to reduce the amount of food I was eating each day. This is the first step in the plan. Add to this exercising more and you are well on the path to eliminating the Roly Poly factor from your life.
2 – Exercise more
While I was away on the bus tour there was no time for any exercise. We were up at 7 am and on the go until about 9:30 at night. I was not able to get any yoga in at all.
When I got back home I resumed my yoga practice. It was difficult and discouraging getting back into it. I had my Roly Poly belly to factor into my practice.
Once you get these two in place you then add in your mind – body connection to continue the elimination of the Roly Poly Factor.
3 – Pay attention to feedback form your body
This one goes along with the eat less point above. Stop eating when your body says it has had enough. There is no need to eat everything on your plate. Put it away in the fridge and use it for lunch the next day.
These three things: eating smaller portions, doing more exercise and stopping eating when you are full will send you down the path of eliminating that Roly Poly Factor from your life.
This is not a quick action plan. It did not take long to acquire that Roly Poly belly but it is going to take several weeks and months to get rid of it.
Summary
It took several months of diligent work before I was able to remove the Roly Poly Factor from my yoga practice.
By Eating less, exercising more and paying attention to the feedback from my body eventually removed the Roly Poly factor. I had to do this everyday for several months. It was a lot of hard work.
I wonder if I will have as many English Breakfasts the next time I go to England.
Next Step
The next time you are on vacation remember the Roly Poly Factor and the impact it can have on your yoga practice. Maybe consider sharing your English Breakfast with your travelling companion and eating a little less.
Additional Reading
To learn more about body feedback and losing weight read Why the Fussy Factor causes you to loose weight.
Another good article about feedback and weight loss is How does yoga help with weight loss.
