forty days of yoga – day 1
on april 29, 2009, I joined yogaone in the plaza midwood (an amazing eclectic/hipster) neighborhood in charlotte … and it forever changed my life~ my body, mind, and soul felt revived and refreshed when i practiced regularly. although the practices are quite difficult– the studio is heated and it’s vinyasa/constant flow yoga, which can be intense– i started to notice that my perspective on many aspects in life started to change- i was calmer, experienced less anxiety, had more confidence to confront/overcome difficult situations, and most of all, i tried not to let small things bother me as much anymore- like getting upset while driving, staying calm when one of my students did something annoying, or when i encountered something out of the ordinary, etc.
SO HERE IT GOES: i’ve decided to complete 40 days of yoga in a row … please follow me- and even more, please hold me accountable~ as i begin and experience this much anticipated journey…
*i was going to start this challenge over lent this year, but felt the urge to begin today 2.1.13 – which happens to be the first day of february~ which wasn’t intentional …
honestly, i am excited and nervous at the same time- in the end, i think it’s going to be amazing!! i love being on my mat. however, my biggest challenge is going to be what my co-workers have been stressing to me forever~ ‘to just say NO’ (according to one of them- dr. oz says that saying ‘no’ adds 7 years onto a life and she says that i never say ‘no’) … it’s a problem for me. i am not in denial and know that i struggle with this! however, tonight i said ‘no’ to three separate events to go to yoga!! small steps. *i am blessed with many wonderful/close friends in this beautiful city and tend to be on the move – but am hoping that this experience will allow me to build a closer relationship with myself.
one of my goals in life is to have balance: balance between reflective practices that can be relaxing, yet challenging too like practicing yoga, reading, writing, praying and social events with friends and family, which usually involve lots of fun – conversing, eating, drinking, laughing – also things that i dearly love.
in the end – i yearn for a healthy and strong balance.
*wish me luck and please send prays- i am going to need them both i think.
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my plan:
– attend a variety of classes- teachers/times/types
– if i am not able to attend an evening class during the work week (which with wedding planning, will probably occur often!), i am going to need to go to the 6am-7am class… and i am definitely not a morning person 🙁
** this will also require me to be extremely organized- lunch, clothes, coffee in order…
– do my very best while at each class & and take on new challenges constantly
– i printed a calendar of february and march and plan to schedule my classes a few days in advance …
– continue to eat healthy/take vitamins daily
– continue to eat healthy/take vitamins daily
– listen to my body
– stay hydrated
and most of all
– just take in the entire experience.
today’s class: 90 minutes — deep stretch (hot)
teacher: fauna
i went in with some anxiety after a strenuous week at work/planning and left feeling amazing and very relaxed! … it was one of the more challenging deep stretch classes i’ve been to and it was practicality empty in there – being that it was a friday night! oh, how things have changed from my first few years in this city. tonight, i loved the openness of the class – we’re usually packed in there – literally- so it was rejuvenating.
deep stretch is similar to what many of you generally think of when you think of the word: yoga. one of my favorite parts about deep stretch is that unlike vinyasa power classes, there is almost always music playing the entire time- which i love. *a few years ago, during a deep stretch class, was when i fell in love with amos lee’s album, el camino – so good.
a sign? i felt like this might be meant to be when fauna started the class tonight saying: yogis tend to live ‘happy lives’ – most of the people that come to yoga classes live full, jam- packed lives and are always on the move … we come here to refresh our body, to rebuild what is broken, and to experience that everything is one.
does anyone want to join me?! i would love to have a friend(s) to experience this with…
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at the end of this journey, i hope to be able to say more than ever:
‘be still & know’