About Me

To give you some background, I am a vinyasa yoga instructor who for some insane reason decided to try Insanity. I am partially curious about my fitness level (because I only practice vigorous yoga) and I partially was intrigued by the stories and can’t resist a challenge. If you tell me I can’t do it, I’m going to try. I am short and my body fat is probably in the normal-athletic range but I am by no means skinny. I have had two children. Gack, my “before” pictures look awful, but I guess I went out of my way to make myself look like that. First thing in the morning, no makeup, dirty hair, ugly sweatpants, relaxed belly.

My objective: Assess how using only yoga for exercise has affected my overall fitness level, how Insanity changes my overall fitness level, and how the use of Insanity affects my yoga practice when I return to it.

Another thing to know about me is that six months ago I developed a blood clot behind my collarbone and into my armpit. I am currently taking warfarin, an anticoagulant. As of now, the clot is nearly gone and completely stable, and I have been cleared by more than one doctor for intense exercise. I notice the affected arm swells ever so slightly after a lot of intense muscle work, but the doctor has told me that’s to be expected with the slightly labored circulation there, and to just work through it. With my condition, intense exercise is actually good, because it increases blood flow. When you have a clot or a propensity for them (I have a minor genetic condition), sitting around in the same position is what you need to watch out for.

Current stats:
Age: 33
Weight: 118
Height: 5’2”
Waist: 27.5-28””
Hips: 36” at widest part
Thigh: 20.5”
Pants size: 4

For reference, my weight has been pretty stable for the last five years since I took off the pregnancy weight and amped up my yoga practice (and STOPPED traditional Western exercise… as a gym rat I weighed about 124) and started eating slightly less. My average weight has been about 114 pounds, and I peaked at the end of 2009 at 119 pounds after Christmas and several months of recovery from the clot during which I practiced yoga but differently and definitely did some emotional eating. My all-time low is about 110, and that was the point that my friends and family started telling me I looked way too thin.

I also looked at the different workout descriptions and decided that I can do just about anything for 40 minutes a day. I am used to practicing vinyasa/ashtanga yoga for 60-90 minutes a day, so I figured, wow – doing Insanity will actually save me time!

You might wonder why my thinking is so twisted, but your opinion will be cemented when I tell you this: I am suffering from a sinus infection and I decided to start Insanity anyway. I don’t feel too bad other than the difficulty breathing, but I reasoned that I could try the fit test and if it’s too awful, as he says, I can take it as a sign that Insanity is not for me. So, yesterday I took a very leisurely rest day, started this morning with a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal, and dived right in.