It Ain't Your Moma's Yoga!!
That is the tagline for the DDPYoga Fitness Program. When most guys hear Yoga, especially us Christians Guys, it is usually quickly followed with comments to run for the hills. Either it is way too girly and emotive, or it is way to spiritual and anti-biblical.
First off, when it comes to DDPYoga, it really is better to think of this as a fitness program inspired by yoga stretches rather than actual yoga. Where the goal of yoga is to attain spiritual tranquility through the poses and meditation, DDPYoga is designed to strengthen muscles, develop your cardiovascular system, increase endurance and recover from past injuries.
Founder and WWE Hall of Fame pro-wrestler, Diamond Dallas Page states that it is not spiritual in nature but it is about developing a positive attitude in what a person can accomplish. Hard work and dedication pays off. Every time you make a small improvement, it creates a sense of motivation to drive you further. DDPYoga is all about encouragement. It's not The Secret where you think good things and good things happen. You do the work, you get back up when you stumble, and you get the benefits.
We actually read this in the Bible:
Hard work always pays off; mere talk does not put food on the table. - Proverbs 14:23
Page sees himself as an encourager. No matter the person's current fitness level, there is a way that they can begin to take steps to improve the quality of their life through fitness. Again, this is a theme we clearly see in the Bible:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. - Ephesians 4:29
These two verses have been how I have approached DDPYoga. Let me share with you my journey.
In the Beginning
I have two health issues that I have struggled with most of my adult life: mid-back pain, and insomnia. Sometimes these two feed off each other - I can't sleep because my back is so sore, or I can't sleep and the stress of that makes me get out of bed with a stiff back.
11 years ago I went to see my doctor about my sleep troubles. After a number of tests, it was determined that I should begin to take a synthetic medication for the rest of my life in order to help me sleep. This seemed like a poor way to approach the issue. It wasn't helping me solve the problem. It was only putting a drug over it. And one that would cost me $90 a week!
At that time I was the heaviest I'd ever been. The stress of pastoral ministry was really getting to me. I weighed in at close to 240. Most of my life I had been way under 200 lbs. I could barely walked up 3 flights of stairs without being out of breath.
I found a book that talked about ways to improve sleep. One of the main points was weight. It encouraged to would lose some weight to sleep better. So I started going to the gym and Danielle and I started an Atkins diet.
I lost close to 30 pounds exercising and changing what I ate!
But my back was KILLING ME!! The weight lost was a help, but back pain all night long would cause me to wake up every morning exhausted. I couldn't find a workout that didn't hurt my back or my neck. The gym. Jogging. Cycling. They all hurt!
I gave up and began assuming I would always have these two problems in my life. Funny, as a pastor I believe God can do anything... but I didn't believe it for me.
Fast forward 5 years. I put the weight back on. Not all of it. But a good part of it. I was around 230 lbs. My wife heard about this DDPYoga thing. I don't even remember where she learned about it. It may have been a home shopping thing... or maybe it was on Shark Tank. Whatever it was, since Danielle knew I LOVED WWE wrestling when I was a teenager, she thought this would be something I would be interested in.
My first response? I ain't doing yoga!! I'm a Christian. I'm a Pastor. And I'm a DUDE!! That is never going to happen!
Late one sleepless night, I googled DDPYoga and watched a couple of videos with Diamond Dallas Page. I loved that guy in the 1990s! His diamond cutter move in the ring was one of my favs!! I don't even remember agreeing with Danielle about getting this program when the DVDs arrived in the mail. Did she just order them? Did I order them? I have no clue... but here they were. They were delivered on a Sunday! Mail doesn't come on a Sunday, does it? Figured that may be sign and I should give it a go.
I loved it! I started the beginner program and was doing it 3 days a week.
I got to week 4 and then stopped. My excuse? Just tired. Just sore. Just busy. Just couldn't get a routine going. The church was growing like crazy at the time and I put more and more hours into work and way less time into caring for myself.
The sleepless nights and back pain continued. I tried a chiropractor. No change. I tried the gym again. Stuck it out for nearly a year... then dropped it.
More sleepless nights and more morning back pain.
Christmas 2019 my son, Cameron, and I got gym memberships. Maybe we could encourage each other on this journey as a way to start off 2020!
2020 was going to be an amazing year with lots of positive changes in my life!
A World Wide Pandemic
Three months into 2020 and everything changed!
When COVID-19 hit our city everything in the church building had to shut down and be moved online. Our team worked like CRAZY making that transition. It was exciting and we were coming up with some amazing ways to bless people and spread the message of Jesus.
This also meant the progress that Cameron and I were getting at the gym stopped.
Originally, we thought working from home would be for a couple of weeks. So working 16 hours a day was fine. It was just temporary.
As it became apparent that working from home and keeping church online was going to be a longer journey, I knew I needed more balance in my life. I needed to make sure that I didn't let my physical and emotional health fall by the wayside. After all, that was my New Year's resolution for 2020, to get healthy physically and mentally before 2021 when I turn 50.
I dug out my DDPYoga DVDs. Since we were all at home, my kids wanted to do the workouts with me. Every day at 11am the three of us would workout together. After the first day, since I really wanted to do a better job of tracking my progress, I purchased the monthly subscription to the DDPYoga Now app to get the latest and most up to date workouts.
By week 4 my daughter started pushing me that 3 days a week wasn't enough for her. She's a soccer player and always been quite active. So we ramped it up to 6 days a week.
At week 6 my kids started working full time at their summer job and were too tired after being on their feet all day to work out with me. I kept it up. Week by week I would be encouraged by the prerecorded videos from Diamond Dallas Page and the results that I was tracking in the app!
Encourage One Another!
Today, I have been doing the workout for 100 days! I have completed 99 workout programs all logged in my app. I track the progress with pictures, body measurements and pain tracking.
I feel fantastic!
I have a level of flexibility that I have had since I was a kid! My weight is the lowest it as been in over 10 years. The back pain is down from a 7 to a 3!
And I'm sleeping! The past 2 weeks I have slept better than I have in a long time.
I don't share this to brag. I don't share this to defend myself again people who think I shouldn't be doing this program.
I share this, as a learner and a leader, to encourage you! If I can do this, you can do this!
What one small step can you take today to improve your physical health? Maybe it is to sign up for the 7 day free trial of DDPYoga Now. Maybe it's go for a walk. Whatever it is for you let me know and I'll join you in as an encourager to you!
To quote Diamond Dallas Page:
If you say you can, or you say you can't, you're right!
You can do this!
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