I’m too old for yoga.
I’m too inflexible for yoga.
I’m too overweight for yoga.
I’m too [fill in the blank] for yoga.
Need a little inspiration to get you off your ass?
Watch the video below. It will only take 4:55 minutes of your time, and I guarantee you will be moved. Even if this video doesn’t inspire you to give yoga a try, it can give you hope that just about anything you think might be unattainable in your life is possible if you just believe in yourself.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/qX9FSZJu448 [/youtube]
You might have already seen this video. It’s got over five million hits and is the personal yoga journey of Arthur Boorman, who for 15 years of his life was a disabled veteran of the Gulf War. He received his injuries as a paratrooper and was told by doctors that he would never walk on his own again without assistance.
For a while, Arthur gave up and turned to food to console him, bringing his weight up to 297 pounds.
Arthur happened to catch a video of former pro-wrestler Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) and decided to give DDP’s brand of yoga a try. He reached out to DDP as well and received personal encouragement from him while he went on his yoga journey.
Don’t give up, keep going, and know that anything is possible.
How many times do we all face personal challenges like this? They might not be as extreme as Arthur’s situation, but we all have projects that at first seem daunting. But if taken in small steps, with patience and a lot of self-love, eventually we can accomplish what initially seemed impossible.
Arthur fell many times, but he got back up. He continued to tell himself that “just because I can’t do it today doesn’t mean I can’t do it someday.” And you will see in the video that Arthur experiences many yoga victories, including losing weight, rocking a headstand, and then coming down from the headstand into crow and jumping back into plank. I can’t even do that – so WOOHOO, Arthur!
I wanted to share this video for anyone out there that might be afraid to try yoga or has given up after just one class. I know yoga is not for everyone. But it’s not something that is going to be easy at first, especially if you have not been exercising regularly. It takes time, determination, and courage. You won’t be able to do everything at first, and the results will not come overnight. But gradually you will start to experience a transformation. Each time you come to your mat, there is an opportunity to make new discoveries, each one taking the body and the mind a little further.
You have to come into yoga with an open mind. When you first start, you might think you’ll never be able to move and stretch the way some of the other students do. The fact is that we are all so much stronger and capable than we allow ourselves credit. And yes, I’m guilty of this too. When I first started, I thought there was no way I’d ever be able to do a headstand or crow pose, and today I can do both of these poses. I can only imagine how much further I’ll take my yoga practice – if Bette Calman can do peacock pose at 93, so can I!
Over the course of one year, Arthur Boorman lost a total of 140 pounds, and more importantly, he was able to prove the doctors wrong. He is walking, practicing yoga, running, and sprinting without any assistance.
Never underestimate what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself.
Never Give Up.
That’s Arthur Boorman’s yoga story. Watch the video, decide what you want to get out there and accomplish in your life, and then set your sights on never giving up!
If you have a personal victory that you would like to share, please leave a comment below. I’d also love to hear from anyone who has tried DDP yoga.
Wow. That had me in tears … what an inspirational man … and it shows how helpful yoga can be to all shapes and bodies, thank you for sharing the video.
I know – I got a little verklempt myself. Glad it inspired you 🙂
Thank God for Arthur. Thank God for DDP. This is a beautiful thing!
♥♥♥
Hi Maria,
Love this video! I saw it for the first time about a month ago and felt completely inspired. I’ve never actually heard of this style of yoga before, but it certainly seems to have worked for this guy. I think the most important thing is picking something and sticking with it, which of course can be the biggest challenge itself.
This was a good reminder of the rewards of sticking with it, as I’ve been pretty bad about that lately. I’ve been feeling great, staying in decent shape, and having fun this summer, but without a local studio, I’ve somewhat let my practice slip. My experience with yoga hasn’t been quite as dramatic as Arthur’s, but I definitely feel better–more centered, focused, relaxed, healthy, etc.–when I’m consistently practicing. Now that my husband’s vacation is over and he’s about to start work, I think it’ll be easier for me to get back into a routine. 🙂
How’s your summer been??
Adrienne – my summer has been incredible so far – thanks for asking. I’m doing what I love – teaching yoga, at a place that I love – the beach, so life is GOOD! Will catch up with you soon 🙂
I’ve been doing DDPYoga for the past 5 months, I just started my 6th. I chose DDPYoga after dealing with multiple injuries last summer from weight training. Since I started I’m already down over 30lbs and my felxibility is so much better and I’m much stronger overall but my core especially so. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet DDP and Arthur and workout with Arthur as well. I can’t tell you how great a program DDPYoga is. I’d encourage anyone interested to check the program out at ddpyoga.com where there are clips from each of the workouts posted. Also, the support site for the program is TeamDDPYoga.com which is free to sign up and it’s a great community of people that help to support and motivate each other.
David – thanks for sharing your experience with DDP. I don’t care what type of yoga a person practices – it’s all good and every kind can bring about personal transformation and healing! Namaste 🙂
Great article! I just wanted to say that I started doing DDP Yoga when I saw Arthur Boorman’s video. I started my Yoga program on May 7th and I’ve never looked back. I’ve lost close to 50lbs. and my flexibility and strength have improved greatly not to mention my self-esteem. I’m also fortunate that I live close enough to Arthur Boorman that I can attend his Yoga classes. He is a yoga instructor part time now because of DDP Yoga. One thing you don’t see in the video is that technically Arthur is still disabled, but with DDP Yoga he has been able to balance through line of site. His story is amazing and it only get’s more amazing the more you get to know him.
Beautiful message and article. Thanks!