Man Sheds 365 Pounds Through Yoga (VIDEO)

A Detroit man, Larry Sherman, was able to shed an incredible 365 pounds over the last four years. His secret? Yoga.

The formerly 540-pound Sherman attributes his success to the inclusive, non-judgmental feel of his local Yoga studio, which he says "saw him as a person."

Yoga Shelter co-founder Eric Paskel attributes Sherman's weight loss success to dealing with his own psychological issues, saying: "It's not the way you eat food, it's what's eating at you."

Watch:

Comments

[chillwind]

12:52 AM on 04/27/2010

Larry, you're fantastic! Welcome back to you!

[wassilij]

02:37 PM on 04/26/2010

Larry....Thank you for this inspiring story!

[Barbara Folk]

12:29 PM on 04/26/2010

Congratulations on the peace you seem to have found within. That is probably at least as important as the weight loss. I think I need to reconsider yoga in my life. :)

[AudsMom]

03:18 AM on 04/26/2010

obviously yoga was only PART of the process.

[FreddyMerc]

03:13 AM on 04/27/2010

Yes, if you actually WATCHED the story you would not need to make this obvious point.

[AudsMom]

01:26 PM on 04/27/2010

thanks yes I did watch...the post was more in reference to another misleading headline by HuffPo...but thank you for trying to keep me in check.

[LolaP]

05:44 PM on 04/25/2010

Great stuff!

[choctawwritergirl]

01:08 PM on 04/25/2010

P.S

If yoga scares you, then try Tai Chi -- esp seniors can benefit from this slow mo exercise and individuals with injuries.

[choctawwritergirl]

01:06 PM on 04/25/2010

Yoga has and always will be a great healer for whatever ails you, even individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome such as myself can benefit from yoga without putting themselves in bed for a week or more from exercise exhaustion.

Try it. Just go at your own pace and don't over do it.

It's the only exercise I do, or let's just say, it's the only exercise I can do that doesn't harm me.

[Ms Anthrope]

12:44 PM on 04/25/2010

Larry-

Thank you so much for bravely sharing your story with the world. My weight has been a struggle for me my entire life, and I think that I finally reached the point where I no longer looked at myself as a person, and instead focused on everything that was wrong or imperfect about my body.

Your story snapped me out of that, making me realize that I too need to recognize myself as a person. If we cannot love or have compassion for ourselves, how can we radiate that to others?

The ironic thing is that in my brief moments of clarity, I would think to myself "I need to get back on the mat."

You are a courageous, inspirational man, and I am so very honored to have witnessed your story.

[ChaCubed]

03:27 AM on 04/25/2010

Page 2 of 2

Years later, I had a friend in her late 60's who looked and acted 40, who smoked. She was so nice, so full of life and good energy, and everyone loved her. Everytime I saw her, I would ask, "Carol, when are you going to love yourself enough to quit smoking?"

The common thread between what I said in my thoughts to my imaginary child, my imaginary friend, and my real friend was love.

I know that, as hard as it is to quit smoking cigarettes, it's easy compared to losing weight because you can't quit eating, but if we can't love ourselves enough to get healthier, and make better choices about our food and exercise, maybe we have to imagine how we would help someone we loved, and treat ourselves and talk to ourselves and behave as if we were someone we loved who we wanted to be well and live as well as possible for as long as possible.

[ChaCubed]

03:20 AM on 04/25/2010

(Page 1 of 2)

Thank you for the comments about motivation and love. They reminded me of somethings:

After a lifetime of smoking and quitting smoking and smoking again, years of triggers that made me try to quit smoking added up and were capped by a grand finale trigger, and I finally quit for good; in part by imagining that the part of my brain that craved nicotine was a petulant two year old child or a friend. I would "say" to the child, "No, we don't smoke. I love you, and you can kick and scream and cry and tell me you hate me and beg all you want, but smoking is bad for us, and if we don't quit, it will kill us or make us wish we could die. If you wanted to drink Draino, I wouldn't let you. Same thing with smoking: nothing you can say will convince me to smoke a cigarette, just so you can get the feeling you like from it."

If it were more of an "adult" feeling, I would think, "No. You asked me to never let you light up another cigarette, and that's what I'm doing. If you were a heroin addict who asked me to help you quit. I would, and I would stay with you for a weekend, or weeks, or months, until you were no longer begging me for "just one" hit.

[Larryasherm]

10:49 PM on 04/24/2010

Thank you all for your warm support and compassionate responses. We can all make a difference another persons life. You all just did with your posts. It is people like all of you that keep me going and wanting to be of service to others in any way possible. I want me story told so I can encourage others to not give up. If i can do anyone can.
Love and appreciation to you all.
Humbly,
Larry

[spaceytracy91]

10:25 AM on 04/25/2010

Larry, I just want to tell you, you've inspired me. I'm heading out to a yoga class right now. I have a lot of weight I'm hiding behind (not nearly as much as you did, I can't even fathom that journey) and I too have had that moment when a loving yoga teacher touches you and you realize how much love there is in the world and through this practice.

Thank you. Namaste.

[FreddyMerc]

03:18 AM on 04/27/2010

What an awesome journey that you embarked upon. If you share more of it, please let me know.
I recently chose Yoga over back surgery, and It has made a profound difference in the quality of my life.
Keep moving forward Larry.

[ARTIST50]

02:06 PM on 04/24/2010

Powerful!

[booker52]

09:39 AM on 04/24/2010

wonderful

[bikerdude]

09:29 AM on 04/24/2010

What an inspiration....I am experiencing the same feeling after starting yoga very late in life...Almost everything feels different.

[seachange525]

06:08 AM on 04/24/2010

Larry, you are an inspiration. I would love to hear more about the changes in your mind and heart that led to the weight loss. Namaste.

[Larryasherm]

10:43 PM on 04/24/2010

thank you for your compassionate support. When i started taking care of my body and tuning into what was really going on in my mind I realized that behind all the pain and guilt of my past there was a warm heart under the fat that just wanted to be seen, heard and appreciated. The deeper I dug into the inner layers of my body, heart and mind the more i realized I was worth so much more than just stuffing myself with food. I wanted to take care of myself and realized the love i wanted so badly started with me loving myself and appreciating myself.
Peace.