Not only did I lose the 25lbs I was looking to drop but I dropped an additional 15lbs for a total of 40lbs in the first 6 months!

I discovered DDP Yoga after being injured while weight training in 2011.  Prior to DDP Yoga,  I had done mainly heavy weight training over the years, and had suffered numerous injuries to my shoulders, knee and lower back because of the heavy toll weight training takes on the body.  Most notably in 2005 I had to have part of my collar bone in my right shoulder removed and in 2006 I injured my lower back pretty bad.  After in injured myself in 2011, I went through 3 months of physical therapy, but unfortunately my progress was slow and I became frustrated.   I decided I needed to find a better way to try to heal my body and I started to look into Yoga…something I never thought I would do.  Yoga isn’t for guys, right?  Or so I thought at the time....

My DDP Yoga journey began in early 2012. My main goals were to lose the weight I had gained, to recover from my injuries, and get into better shape.  What I found was a great community that DDP had been set up for people doing the workouts. The Team DDP Yoga community was a huge benefit to me when I first started.  Being able to talk to people doing the workouts and share experiences really was essential to my success.  

When I started the workouts I found out just how out of shape I was, and how I completely lacked any flexibility. It was a real eye opener to say the least. It really helped motivate me to work harder and focus on the movements in the workouts so I could get the most out of them.  What really struck me was how quickly my flexibility improved, and how my injuries recovered more quickly than I had expected.  Not only did I lose the 25lbs I was looking to drop but I dropped an additional 15lbs for a total of 40lbs in the first 6 months!

My DDP Yoga journey hasn’t been without its bumps in the road, however. I did suffer a couple setbacks along the way.  I needed to have 2 surgeries to repair an umbilical hernia about a year and a half apart from each other.  During that time I didn’t watch what I was eating as closely as I should have, and I gained weight. Most notably, after my second surgery I gained a total of 20lbs.  I could definitely feel the difference in my body, and it impacted my mental well-being. Because DDP Yoga is uniquely accessible to people of all fitness levels, once I was cleared to start exercising in April of 2014, I was able to ease into the workouts using modifications.  After about a month I was able to workout without any limitations, and was able to lose 20lbs within a matter of a few months.

In July of 2014 I started down the path of becoming a DDP Yoga certified instructor.  With the help of many of the already certified instructors, but most importantly my mentor Liz Collins, I was able to achieve that goal, and I became a certified DDP Yoga instructor myself in October of 2014.  It has been an incredible journey over the past 3 years of doing the DDP Yoga workouts.  I’ve had the opportunity to be at some of the incredible DDP Yoga Workshops, Ultimate Workshops and Retreats.  Now that I’m an instructor, I’m looking forward to passing along my experience and knowledge and helping people to achieve their goals as well!!