YOGA IN GERI'S LIFE
" I got into yoga 2 years ago, I was looking for another form of weight loss and yes, it has helped me keep in shape, but yoga gives me so much more. If you want to feel good about yourself, relax and feel healthier, this might be just the thing for you." Geri Halliwell.

HOW YOGA SAVED ME FROM MY FOOD OBSESSION From The Mirror.

Geri Halliwell's taut stomach and ultra-toned bottom and thighs are the envy of women everywhere.

The star's transformation from a well-rounded Spice Girl to lean and muscular performer was a personal triumph which amazed the show business world.

But now she is a new woman.

The metamorphosis is a result of regular exercise, a sensible diet and most importantly, the ancient art of yoga. The mystical Eastern practice has revolutionized her attitude to health and fitness.

Crucially it has freed her from the destructive cycle of excessive dieting, calming her mind and allowing her to eat the food she used to fear, even chips.

She believes we can all benefit from Yoga. You don't need any expensive equipment. Just a space in your living room.

In our inspirational series-adapted from Katy Appleton- Geri reveals how yoga helped whittle her down from a size 12 to a sleek size 8.

Yoga speeded up her remarkable 28-pound weight loss and she no longer resorts to the dangerous dieta which enslaved her before.

"I've tried everything to stay in shape. Exercise down to gym since I was 17" says the 29-year-old star, on the two-hour video. "I've run for miles and been on every diet there is"

"But now talking to my nature and disposition into consideration. I'm convinced that it has to be an 'inside job'. I had to get a really healthy mind first"

"Yoga has taught me that a healthy mind and a healthy body are integrated. It's all about loving yourself"

The most welcome side effect of Geri's yoga programme is the way it helped cure her obsession with food. She has previously admitted to bingeing on leftover take always toast. Spaghetti and boxes of after dinning minta. She would then purge herself by vomiting.

Now, after following a range of crash diets which made her feel even more depressed, she is finally eating sensibly.

"You could call me a happy foodle now." she says "It's no secret that I've suffered from raging disorders for the past 10 years."

"My disorder was about not wanting to take responsibility for my life. Every time I had a problem I would turn to food"

Geri's self acceptance through yoga helped her come down to the terms with the issue.

"Now I eat three meals a day. Whether I'm hungry or not" She reveals.

"I don't do faddy diets like just eating carbohydrates or just eating protein"

"Now I keep my sugar levels steady because I am hypoglycaemic"

Although she is super slim, she always eat big portions.

"For breakfast I have a really large towl of porridge. it doesn't have to be skimmed milk. It can be semi skimmed milk or full-fat. I'm not frightened of fat at all"

"My lunch- whether it's potatoes, chicken or fish - can be grilled, even fried"

"I wouldn't eat a potato a year ago because I thought it would make me fat. Which is c**p. Some occasions I eat red meat. Occasionally I even eat chipe. It sound mad but before If I had one chip. i'd want to eat the whole house. I'd want to eat two plates of Chips. I could never eat a normal portion"

"I had to re-learn eating behaviours"

The re-education process started with yoga. A practice she took up shortly after she quite the Spice Girls in 1998.

Geri was spurred on by Britpack artist Sam Taylor-Wood. Who she met at one of Elton John's parties.

Sam explained how yoga helped her cope with cancer and suggested it might benefit her too. 

"I was feeling really lethargic at the time" adds Geri. "My body felt ill. I was 25 but felt 80. I think it was because of my lifestyle, the amount of traveling I'd done and what I'd been through emotionally".

"I decided to give yoga a chance. Previously I'd thought that yoga was only for 'bendy people' and it was more suited to holistic, hipple types".

"I'd always felt so clumsy and awkward and didn't think it was for me"

However, after hiring a private teacher, she found it both, relaxing and liberating.

"At my first yoga class I cried" she says. I believe in cellular memory - that you store emotions in every cell of your body."

"Yoga is like squeezing out a dirty dishelot. When I squeezed my shoulder muscle, it let it all out."

"Geri admits her 'addictive personality' led her to practice yoga seven days a week, but she now calls upon it when she needs it. This summer she was photographed performing classic yoga postures like the Crab, the Dog and the cat while on holiday in Italy. The moves had been taught by Katy Appleton. A former prima ballerina from London.

The paparazzi pictures caused such a stir, the pair decided to produce their own video to inspire ordinary people to take up yoga.

"It's lovely to be able to share something like this "Says Geri, who often does yoga in front of her beloved shih-tzu, Harry. "Anyone can do it. You don't have to be that flexible"

Geri's tailor-made regime is formed from a range of exercises taken from the Hathat method of Yoga. It also includes elements of Ashtanga yoga - or power yoga - favoured by other stars like Madonna.

The overall effect is to elongate and tone muscles as well as stimulate internal organs including the liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen and heart.

Other benefits include better digestion and healthier sleep patterns.

"I know I have always tried to seek out and strive for happiness" Says Geri " But these days, If I can get contentment then that's enough, rather than exhilaration"

"I used to sweep from exhilaration to complete depression. If I could just get that happy medium - get through the day without any drama - then that's good enough for me."

"And that's where yoga has come in"

"I'm a lucky girl because I've got health, a lovely family and friends. the best thing for me is to be able to take on life on life's terms and be grown up about it"

"But there are some crap bits. Sometimes I'm a big baby and put my head in the sand and don't face things.

"So, When I am really happy uptight and aggressive, yoga slowly brings me back to where I am and what's important"

"It takes an hour, or sometimes just 15 or 20 minutes of yoga just for me to plug in to how I feel. It's a really loving thing to do. It's a reconnection with the inner self"

Before embarking on any new exercise programme always consult your doctor. This plan is not suitable for pregnant women. Do not try the exercise within 2 hours of eating or after consuming alcohol.

GERI YOGA VIDEO: BUY NOW! Enjoy all the benefits of Yoga and get a 2-hour-long video full of yoga positions for beginners and for advanced yoga users. The video is available in 2 formats and it features not only the yoga instructions but also a complete interview with Geri. Buy it now from amazon.co.uk BUY THE VHS VERSION CLICK HERE BUY THE DVD VERSION CLICK HERE