I decided to do this challenge about 6 months ago, when I first saw that the studio was offering 30- and 40-day challenges. Come February, I will have been practicing yoga for a year. In this year, I will have also switched to vegetarianism, rid my life of all the drama, made huge steps towards the completion of my master's, and overall become a more balanced, joyful person. It seemed only appropriate to close this first year of change with a challenge like this one.
The 30-Day Yoga Challenge is offered a few times a year at Samatva. The challenge is exactly as it sounds: attend 30 in-studio yoga classes in 30 days. Classes range in length from 45 to 75 mins (usually 75) and can be either hot or room temperature, power or gentle and everything in between. Thankfully, samatva offers over 30 classes a week, so choosing which class to go to is the least of your worries.
Since last February, I have practiced on average 3 times a week. The most yoga I have ever done is 6 days in a row. I am excited and anxious to see how practicing every single day for a month is going to change my body, and more importantly, change my mind. Devout yogis say that you can control which thoughts you experience and which ones you don't, and that yoga is the personification of "mind over matter." Yesterday I heard once of my teachers tell us that pain is in the mind. Of all the cliches to hear during a hot yoga class in which your body is contorted, twisted and pushed to its limit, this last one isn't the most encouraging. However, something I have heard over and over again in the studio is "this too shall pass," one I don't mind hearing as much.
I have been to 2 of my 30 classes, both 7:00am prana vinyasas. It isn't the first time I've gone to two classes in a row. It is the first time, however, that I realized that committing yourself to an hour a day of something really isn't that much time in the grand scheme of things. I had a full day at work today, and by the time I dealt with my data issues, discussed chair covers with Laura, trudged home through the snow, fed the cat, took a call from my landlord, fed myself and unwound a bit, I almost forgot that this morning I was cursing myself for starting this challenge in the first place. Hell, I even forgot that I went to yoga!
Everyday life presents us with all kinds of hurdles to overcome. A headache this morning...a huge roadblock with my data...worrying about whether or not I'd have to go replace my phone today... .. all these things end up being WAY more stressful and of consequence than the hour I spent in the morning sweating a bit and trying to will my hamstrings into submission. My body and my breathing, I can control. The rest is completely unknown, and if we can just gain control of an hour of our lives at a time and clear our heads, I feel we're already ahead.
Aside from all this introspection into intention and purpose, I have also decided to change up my diet a bit this month as well. A friend told me when I started this challenge that she knew a girl who did this too, but also did a 30-day cleanse on top of it and almost died. I won't go that crazy, but have decided to cut alcohol and decrease my portion sizes. While weight loss and slimming might be nice side effects, my main intention with this is to keep my energy up and my body light. I've also realized that cutting down bedtime snacks has a huge effect on how you feel in the morning and the entire next day.
The effort continues tomorrow... :)
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