Honoring Myself with a Yoga Revolution

I'm a huge fan of Yoga with Adriene and have recommended her videos to a lot of people IRL.  She's funny, down-to-earth, and REAL (during the video I watched this morning, a little bug scuttled across her floor, and she merely said hello to him and brought his presence to our attention, saying he was going to do yoga with her....and that's totally something nerdy I'd do).  At the beginning of this year she created a 31-day yoga challenge called "Revolution," and I've decided to put myself to the task now.

Part of me wanted to wait until the start of a new month to begin this challenge, but a calendar page is arbitrary.  I'm ready now; I'm motivated; I'm yearning to feel better in mind, body, and spirit, so I have begun!


I've completed days 1-4 so far and appreciate that the practices build on each other and are also centered around a particular theme.  Having a mantra or certain concentration for each practice helps keep me focused and more mindful.  I find that I often feel very scattered, concerned about what's next or what needs to be done rather than what is NOW or what I CAN DO.  It's my intention with this yoga challenge to root myself deeper in the present and to get a better handle on all of which I'm capable (plus I gotta work on my strength and balance...let's be real here!).

I took yoga classes back in college for course credit and really got into it for awhile, but over the past few years have gotten away from it.  Nowadays I tend to get frustrated when I try a pose I would've been much more capable of in my yoga heydays, so the concept of honoring myself, my limitations, and my capabilities is one I need to practice, both on and off the mat.  I have set the reward that at the end of the challenge - if I have stuck with it - I'm going to buy myself one of these Turkish towels to use during my practice (in place of a blanket for knee support, etc.).  I just love how classy and bohemian they look!  And while the real goal here is to get more comfortable with doing impromptu practices at home, a little external dangling carrot never hurt anyone, right?  😉

For those of you who do yoga, have you had a hard time getting into the routine of a practice on your own?  What accountability measures did you put in place to make sure you stuck to it?  Besides Adriene, what other instructors should I check out?