I've been a fan of yoga for several years. The first few times I practiced though, I was more frustrated after class than exhilarated. I focused on others in the class, and what they could do and I couldn't do. I'm the first to admit that I'm a competitive person. I push myself to abnormal lengths for the self gratification of being able to say, if only to myself, "I can do that too." I learned very quickly that this is the wrong attitude to have for yoga, and I checked my ego at the door.
About three years ago I was consistently taking yoga classes at my gym: Sunday afternoon, Tuesday evening, Thursday evening, Friday evening, and Saturday morning. Like clockwork, I'd arrive and lay out my mat 10 minutes before class and have a few quiet minutes to myself before the hour long session. I left class feeling rejuvenated, clear, and loose. Then work became crazy and I was thrown responsibilties that I professionally wasn't trained for, but my good ol' competitiveness kicked in, and I spent hours upon hours slumped behind a computer at work. My yoga life was put on hold. The sad part is that I haven't practiced yoga as consistently since then. One thing or another would get in the way, and taking care of myself and my body always got put on the back burner.
Fast forward to the present...I'm filled with so many body ailments that my husband makes fun of me and says I'm falling apart. He's right. My body is screaming at me and begging me to start nurturing it again. My hips are so tight that it hurts to pull my leg up and put socks on in the morning! Unacceptable. So this morning, as soon as I woke up, I made the commitment to myself that I'd start practicing yoga again...every damn day. Whether it's 10 minutes or 90 minutes, I'm challenging myself to practice some sort of yoga every day for the next 30 days. I'm sure there will be days that right before bed I'll do a quick downward facing dog, sit in pigeon pose for a few minutes, then curl up in bed...and I'm totally fine with that.
Day 1 in the bag... #yogaeverydamnday
