How to live with the Roly Poly Factor

My wife and I recently went on a two week Bus Tour of Great Britain.  We visited 5 different sites each day and got out to eat at an interesting place most every evening.

The breakfasts were to die for.  An all you can eat English Breakfast.  You have not lived until you have had an English Breakfast.  There is eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, baked beans, baked half tomato, hash browns, mushrooms with coffee, tea and juice on the side.

I have always enjoyed a good breakfast, but this was like dying and going to heaven for me.  Needless to say I had a very good breakfast everyday of our trip.

When I got home after two weeks of these excellent breakfasts I discovered that I had acquired the Roly Poly factor and it was having a negative impact on my yoga practice.

What is the Roly Poly factor

A Roly Poly is a kid’s toy that looks like a clown.  It has an extremely large middle and when you push it over it will move part way toward the floor and then it will move back up to vertical.  Its very large middle is what prevents it from falling over and laying on the floor.

My Roly Poly factor was very similar to that toy.  I had developed a very large middle.  I had gained about 10 pounds during my trip and it had all settled in my abdomen.  While I was not as large around as the Roly Poly toy, it certainly was a problem  for my yoga practice.

Why is the Roly Poly factor a problem

Not only were my clothes not fitting as well as they used to, my yoga practice was suffering.

There are three areas that are affected by the Roly Poly factor.

• Forward Folds
• Twists
• Backbends

Forward Folds

When you fold forward in any of the many forward bends you will discover that your Roly Poly middle is getting in the way and preventing you from going as far into the pose as you used to.

Twists

All twists will be a problem but twists where you are turning torso towards your raised thigh like in Marichyasana C will be particularly difficult.  Now you will have all of that extra stuff around your middle that you will have to get out of the way before you can complete your twists.

Backbends

There is a group of back bending postures that you do with your belly on the floor.  These poses will be even more uncomfortable as your Roly Poly belly is compressed into your abdominal organs and your spine.

As you can see the Roly Poly Factor has a lot of impact on your yoga practice. But there is good news.  You can work with the Roly Poly Factor and you can eventually eliminate it.

How to live with the Roly Poly factor

Until the Roly Poly Factor is eliminated from your life there are few things you can do to work with it during your yoga practice.

1. Strong Uddiyana Bandha
2. Lift chest
3. Exhale as you enter the pose
4. Spread your legs during forward folds

1 – Strong Uddiyana Bandha

You can work on developing an extra strong Uddiyana Bandha.  This is your lower abdominal lock.  You bring tension to your lower abdomen and draw your navel in towards your spine and up towards your ribs.

Using a strong Uddiyana Bandha will help to shrink the size of your Roly Poly belly.  This is only the first step.

2 – Lift chest

Next you lift your chest away from your hips slightly.  This movement will create more space in your abdomen which will create a space for your Roly Poly belly to go when you engage Uddiyana Bandha.

3 – Exhale as you enter the pose

The final step in reducing the size of your Roly Poly belly is to exhale as you enter the pose.  When you exhale your diaphragm lifts up into your rib cage and this will make even more space in your abdomen to accommodate your Roly Poly belly.

All of these actions may not be enough to fully remove the affect of your Roly Poly belly from your yoga practice.

4 – spread legs during forward folds

You can spread your legs apart, making a space to accommodate your Roly Poly belly as you fold forward.
Similarly with the twists you can create a little more room between your leg and torso making room for your Roly Poly belly to get by as you twist into the pose.

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do to accommodate your Roly Poly belly when you do belly down back bends. It is still going to be there between you and your mat.

Summary

When I got back from my vacation and discovered that I had acquired the Roly Poly Factor I modified my yoga practice to live with it.

I reduced the affect of my Roly Poly belly on my yoga practice by using a strong Uddiyana Bandha, lifting my chest and exhaling as I moved into my yoga poses.

Next Step

When you come back from a vacation and discover that you have acquired the Roly Poly Factor talk to your yoga teacher about  how to modify the yoga poses you are doing to accommodate your Roly Poly belly.

Additional Reading

To learn more about body feedback and losing weight read Why the Fussy Factor causes you to loose weight.

Another good article about feedback and weight loss is How does yoga help with weight loss.