Yoga Confessional

Today is September 7th, which means I should be a week into my 30 day yoga challenge... when in reality today is the third day consecutive day I've done yoga this week. Whoops. So, maybe my 30 day commitment started a few days later than anticipated. No harm, right? What counts is that I started, right?

Yesterday's practice was tough. I couldn't quiet my mind and holding a plank felt nearly impossible. It took every ounce of concentration I had to not fall out of a modified tree pose. The last ten minutes were fully dedicated to savasana, and man, was I grateful for that. I left practice feeling grounded and reenergized. I definitely felt better than when I was stumbling all over my mat.

My hope is that in a month, I can look back on these 30 days and see how my practice has changed (and *fingers crossed* improved). Just like I know every run is different and every mile changes you, I have to remind myself that every time I come to the mat my practice will also vary. No two times on the mat will ever be the same.

I wonder how my next week will go. Namaste.

xoxo

National Yoga Month

The first time I went to a yoga class, I hated it. I remember narrating the whole class "Oh of course, you're already moving into the next pose, I haven't even gotten into this one yet." "How the heck does her body turn like that?" "I'm supposed to do what with my arms?!" "My body does NOT bend like that!" And my favorite "Uh oh... Do I need to fart?"  It was probably a year later that I decided to try hot yoga - it was a vinyasa flow in a hot room. This was a completely different experience and I fell in love. I would go religiously, two, three, sometimes four times a week. It was invigorating and my favorite part was how I could feel my body getting stronger. I could hold poses with more ease and I didn't feel like a dangly mess with limbs going all different ways. It was part of my life. The practice would end with the instructor putting a cold damp jasmine lavender cloth over my face during savasana. I'd open my eyes feeling all sorts of refreshed afterwards.

And then I moved.

For me at least, once I fall in love with a studio it's hard to find another studio that compares. But after a bit of trial and error, I finally found another studio that I liked and would go whenever I could.

And then I moved.... again.

I'm starting to sense a pattern here. 

I've been traveling quite a bit this year, so I've been focusing on my running more than my yoga practice, but for the month of September - National Yoga Month - I've decided to commit to 30 days of yoga. I've decided as long as I get on my mat, it doesn't matter how long I do it for. It could be 15 minutes on my mat in the morning before work or it could be an hour long class in front of the ocean. Whatever my mood is that day, as long as I get on my mat.

Let's see how the next 30 days go.

Namaste.

 xoxo