August 2016 - My story is a little different than many testimonies you've heard about DDP YOGA. For me, it was never about losing the weight, at least not at first. In the Fall of 2013, I herniated a disc in my back. I didn't realize it at first, but the warning signs had been there for awhile. My back would hurt while driving and then my left leg would start going numb pretty regularly. I finally pushed it too far picking up a five foot, 100 lbs. propane tank.

 

I had just recently married that year and my wife was already pregnant with our first daughter. I was scared to death of becoming a burden to my young family because the pain was unbearable. Just a sneeze felt like somebody turning a knife in my spine. To get out of bed in the morning I would have to slowly roll myself to the side and maneuver my feet into position before standing. When my daughter was born, I couldn't even pick her up. If my wife left me with her while she ran some errands, she would have to set her crib, swing, and other things up on the table because if she was on the floor, I just couldn't get her up.

 

I finally went to the doctor. He told me it looked like a back injury and that he would normally take an MRI, but I didn't have any insurance and couldn't afford it. He settled for an X-ray and it indeed revealed a herniation and spurs coming off the bone. He said that surgery would have been his suggestion, but again, I didn't have insurance and couldn't afford it. He tried to medicate it with muscle relaxers and pain relievers. However, they would knock me out when I took them at midnight and leave me sleeping until noon. Even then, I would wake up and be groggy for the next six hours. I felt utterly useless and depression was setting in.

 

As a last ditch effort, he suggested I go home and search YouTube for some yoga videos designed to rehab a back. I found a couple, but I knew the namaste aspect would drive me crazy! Then, I came across the Arthur video. For the first time in a long time, I had hope!

 

I spoke with my wife and we immediately ordered the DDP YOGA MaxPack. At first, it was so hard. When Dallas had us fall forward I would groan in agony and couldn't stand up without walking my hands back up my legs. At the end of the videos when he would have us "kick out", my feet just fell to the floor like a rock.

 

I kept at it, however, and slowly but surely I began to notice a difference. My back hurt less. I felt stronger. One day I bent down to put on my socks and shoes and was half way finished before I realized I wasn't hurting!

 

Today, I am pain-free 90% of the time and even the 10% that I hurt, it's a lot more bearable. At 42 years young I'm stronger than I've ever been in my life. I can hold positions now that I would have never believed I would have been able to two years ago. I can do psycho pushups, bird-of-paradise and many other moves. However, better than all of that, I can hold my own all day long playing with my two-year-old daughter and my one-year-old boy. They're going to have a strong daddy for a long time and I owe it all to DDP YOGA.

 

There's only one thing left. Dallas says, you can't out-train a bad diet and I'm living proof. Although I work out at least an hour every day and often more, I've never lost weight. I look better because I stand straighter and I have replaced some weight with muscle. Still, I have about 50 lbs. to go. So I'm focusing on cleaning up my eating as my next challenge. There's always somewhere else you can take it!

 

 

UPDATE

 

March 2017 - I started DDP YOGA three years ago, and I only started in order to rehab my back. I had no interest in changing my diet. I'm a big man at 6'2" and I like to eat. I couldn't believe Dallas thought I would give up bread and dairy! So I worked out like a mad man and still ate all the junk I wanted. I kept getting stronger and my muscles got bigger but so did my belly too. About two and a half years after starting DDPY I had actually gained 20 lbs from 254 to 274.

Then I started to choke on the food I was eating. At first, it was just every once in a while. Later it was at nearly every meal. I went to the gastroenterologist and he diagnosed me with eosinophilic esophagitis. Basically, I had a food allergy and the white blood cells would react by invading my throat tissue and inflaming it. There is no treatment for it at this time, other than eliminating the foods that cause the reaction. I was given a list of six foods to eliminate from my diet or continue to get worse. The first two were gluten and dairy. I couldn't believe it! But I had no other choice and got rid of those foods. Not even one week had gone by when I noticed that the weight was falling off! Dallas is right, you can't outwork a bad diet. In a little less than three months, I am down over 30 lbs and I only have another 30 left to reach my goal.

 

Not even one week had gone by when I noticed that the weight was falling off! Dallas is right, you can't outwork a bad diet. In a little less than three months, I am down over 30 lbs and I only have another 30 left to reach my goal.