My Big Dream: A Curvy Body with a 10cm Smaller Waist!

Every year, as the year ends, I make it a habit to think about my "goals for the coming year." For the past two years, my goals were "overcoming procrastination" and "persistence" in areas like running, yoga, and language learning, which I successfully achieved and even made into habits.

Just as I was wondering, "What should I aim for next?" my eyes landed on Kashiwagi-san's Curvy Dance. I knew her exercises were popular and had been interested. The moment I saw it, I felt an instant connection: "This is it!" What resonated with me was that while I had been focusing on aligning my body—through stretching, running, and yoga—to achieve a "supple body without distortion," a "body that can move," and a "body with physical awareness"—I now felt inspired to add to that by pursuing the curvy physique I'd admired since I was young. In other words, I felt a desire to challenge myself from body conditioning to body shaping.

I'm sometimes told I look slim, but that's because my legs are slender, making me appear thin. I have a rather straight, shapeless figure without a defined waist. This has been a consistent characteristic since my younger, even slimmer days, and I've never had a curvy body. That's precisely why, when I found these mook books, I thought, "Yes, this will be my goal for next year!" and felt motivated to try. My big dream: a curvy body with a 10cm smaller waist!

Besides a 3cm Waist Reduction, Where Else Did I See Results?

I immediately tried it at home, following the DVD. On the first day, I focused on practicing the basic movements from the "Get Slim Instantly with Curvy Dance" DVD. The next day, I tackled the "Relax Curvy" and "Spark Curvy" routines included in the "Targeted Slimming with Curvy Dance" DVD. It was fun! Since the exercises have a strong dance element, they were perfect for me, someone who loves to dance. The intensity was just right—not too hard, but not too easy either. Plus, each program is around 10 minutes long, which is a perfect duration.

"I think I can keep this up!" I thought, and after three days of dedicated exercise, I measured my waist and found it had reduced by 3 centimeters! "At this rate, losing 10cm might be easy!" I rejoiced, but that was short-lived. On the morning of the fourth day, my right rib cage felt as if it had fractured. I wondered if I had broken a bone from over-practicing. Gently touching the sore spot, I realized it was the same place where I had broken a rib once when I was younger. However, it didn't hurt unless I touched it. So, it wasn't a fracture; rather, the muscles in that area, which had been stiff from the break, suddenly felt reawakened by the stretching and contracting movements of Kashiwagi-style exercises, causing the pain. Even though I practice stretching and yoga, I had never experienced anything like this before. This exercise must truly reach the deep muscles.

So, I decided to adopt a "break-in" cycle: exercise for two days, then rest for five days until the pain subsided. After continuing this for three weeks, the stiffness in my rib muscles seemed to ease, and the pain disappeared. Now, I've started aiming for a pace of about four times a week. While my waist measurement is still fluctuating around that 3cm reduction, I've unknowingly noticed effects in other areas.

Every Morning, I Measure My Weight and Waist and Record It in My Notebook

The other day, when I visited my long-time chiropractor for the first time this year, she exclaimed, "Oh my, your right shoulder and right pelvis have improved! The bulge under your right shoulder blade is gone, and the base of your right arm looks slimmer!" These were areas of postural distortion, almost occupational hazards, that had been difficult to improve even with treatment. My right shoulder was forward due to my posture while applying makeup, and my right pelvis was tucked inward. The area under my shoulder blade, which serves as the pivot for twisting and bending my body, was protruding, and the base of my right arm was thicker due to the forward shoulder and overuse from being right-handed. The fact that these areas have improved suggests that not only can I achieve a curvy body, but I might also resolve long-standing postural issues! Knowing this, it goes without saying that I became even more motivated to properly practice Curvy Dance.

Incidentally, I've adopted another habit alongside this exercise routine: measuring my weight and waist every morning and recording it in my notebook. Seeing the numbers confirms my progress and helps maintain my motivation. Moreover, becoming conscious of the numbers has made me more mindful of my food intake and encouraged me to eat slowly and savor my meals. In fact, for the past three years, one of my goals has been to "be satisfied with eating lightly and in small portions," and I've been keeping a food diary as a strategy, but with limited success. I now understand the reason for that failure: I wasn't quantifying it, and the goal was too abstract and not specific enough.

Setting a specific target, like a 10cm reduction, makes the dream more attainable. It motivates me to work towards it with exercise and also encourages me to eat slowly and avoid overeating. After all, the results are clearly reflected on the scale and the measuring tape. Of course, I don't intend to get overly excited or discouraged by these numbers. I view them simply as tools to sustain my motivation and savor the sense of accomplishment.

Therefore, my goals for this year are decided: "Improving long-standing postural issues and achieving my first curvy body with Kashiwagi-style Curvy Dance, along with eating lightly and in small portions!"

However, with each new goal I set, the list of things to do grows, making time management increasingly challenging. How I handle this will likely be the key to sustaining my efforts. I'm currently pondering this very issue. But perhaps, in the end, there's no better answer than "Act rather than just thinking about it!"