Today is a really proud day for me. Today I was featured by the DDPYoga team for their Transformation Tuesday posts on Facebook and Twitter.  I will be appearing soon on their “works in progress” section on the website.  I am an enthusiastic spokesperson for the plan, and  I have not been paid for my testimonial.  The lessons I have learned are far better payment than money.

The seeds for my journey to good health were planted in 2012 when I saw a video about the remarkable transformation of a disabled former paratrooper who used DDPYoga to completely transform his life.  I watched that video over and over with tears streaming down my face as Arthur fell down over and over, but ended up throwing away his crutches and learning to run again.

Former WWE wrestler Diamond Dallas Page was in that video talking about helping Arthur. I googled Diamond Dallas Page Yoga and found the website for DDPYoga (formerly YRG).  I ordered it immediately, then I received an email link sending me to TeamDDPYoga.com, a website for support where I found others who had watched the “Arthur Video” and were desperate for help, too.

I weighed at least 322 pounds (that’s the highest my doctor recorded), with an ankle injury and arthritis in both knees that frequently required me to use a cane to get around, I was desperate.  In my 30 years as an overweight adult, I have spent thousands of dollars on infomercial products, aerobics classes and diet meetings.  I never stuck with any of it.

When I received my discs, I began my transformation.  I learned to get off the floor without using a chair.  I learned to change the way that I ate.  I learned to stand on one foot.  I made great progress. I lost 30 pounds, and then life got complicated and the discs went back into the drawer.  Although I didn’t gain back all of the weight, I stopped progressing.

I re-booted the program a couple of times, but it wasn’t until I listened to the rest of DDP’s message – that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do about it – that I began the real transformation.  In March 2014, I hit a real low spot in my life.  It was a low time physically, emotionally and spiritually.  After a scary spell at work (a panic attack that I believed with my whole heart was a stroke), I committed to making the changes that would lead me to where I am today.

I do a lot of running.  I never ran as a young person.  I believed that I couldn’t run.  watching Arthur run ignited a burning desire to prove everyone (including myself) wrong.  I took the first tentative steps on the treadmill and never looked back.  Nearly a year and a half (and 796.4 miles later), I have learned to call myself a runner.

Through my journey, I’ve met scores of awesome people – people who, like me, believed that they would never be able to reach a healthy weight – never be able to run.  I receive messages that said, “You inspire me,” and I am so grateful for the opportunity to show others that it *is* possible to overcome bad diet, physical injuries, thyroid problems, PCOS and arthritis pain to build a better life.

Last February I participated in the 2015 Disney Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World.  I  wasn’t able to finish, but the fact that I even STARTED is testimony to the fact that by owning your life, you can make tremendous changes.  I’m going back next year to finish what I started.

DDPYoga is “not your Mama’s Yoga.”  There are no mantras, no meditation, no soft music or incense.  We end each workout with a BANG!

DDPYoga is but one facet of the wellness program that I have adopted, but it’s an important one.

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

God uses many teachers to show us the way.  DDP is one of the teachers who have shown up in my life when I needed it most.