21 Days of Yoga: Day 1
If you know me, you know that I am not a huge fan of the holidays. This is probably blasphemy to a lot of people, and might cause you to label me a Scrooge, Grinch, Abominable Snow-midget, or some other mythical Christmas-squashing character. Frankly, I just want to escape the holiday season with my sanity in as close to one piece as possible.
Almost everything about the season makes me feel ragey and stabby and to want nothing more than to hibernate until December 26th: Interminable traffic everywhere, for no apparent reason. Stressing out about juggling myriad family celebrations and the inevitable guilt trip that follows when I skip certain ones. Figuring out what to buy for whom and the ensuing dread of setting foot in any retail outlet (two life-saving words: Amazon Prime). Christmas songs being played constantly, beginning the day after Halloween (I swear, I might commit a felony the next time I have to hear that damn Mariah Carey song). Oh, and by the way: Just because you put horns and a nose on your vehicle DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR CAR IS NOW A REINDEER; it is still, in fact, a minivan.
Yoga All the Way
I guess it’s pretty obvious that I’ve needed a refuge from the madness. In the past, I’ve found that refuge in yoga. I started practicing in college, which helped control my stress and got me through frenzied exam periods and bleak, cold Ithaca winters relatively intact. I practiced sporadically in the years after graduation, and have begun revisiting it more seriously over the last six months. I have no attention span, however, and I also don’t have enough expertise (yet) to develop a solid home practice of my own. I love going to yoga class, but it’s expensive, so my other alternative is to use my relatively limited DVD collection at home (not so conducive to above-referenced ferret-like attention span).
As I was maniacally clicking through Amazon the other day looking for God-knows-what, I happened upon a recently-released set of yoga DVD’s: Yoga Journal’s 21-Day Challenge. This piqued my curiosity (as does most anything containing the word “challenge”) and gave me an idea: Instead of 12 days of Christmas, I would give myself 21 days of yoga. Given the choice between lower stress, more calm and the wherewithal to resist strangling crazy holiday hooligans, or lots of nasty pooping birds and leaping/piping/dancing/baking idiots, the answer was clear.
Fast-forward two days, and thanks to the magical goodness of Amazon Prime that satisfies my need for near-instant gratification, this lovely appeared on my doorstep this evening:
The set contains a total of 13 practices and a suggested schedule for the 21-day challenge. Each week begins with foundational practices for the first few days. Day 5 of each week is a practice that works towards a final challenge pose. Day 6 is a tension release practice that focuses on a different area of the body each week, and Day 7 ends the week with a slower-paced relaxing practice.
And So It Begins: Day 1
I figured there was no better time to start the 21-day challenge than right now, so I dove right in. I know that forcing myself to set aside this time each and every day over the next three hectic weeks will be tough, but also necessary. By completing the entire three-week series, my goal is not only to get through the holiday season with more calm and peace and less stress and anxiety than in prior years, but also to create a habit of daily practice that I can carry forward.
The practice for Day 1 of each week is the 45-minute “Fun Flow.” I consider myself an intermediate student, but after a couple-month hiatus from the mat, I found this vinyasa practice challenging (though certainly doable). At a certain point, I cursed my weak core muscles and decided that if I had to do one more chaturanga my arms and shoulders would probably fall off. And then, when I thought I couldn’t possibly go any longer, the practice moved into several floor poses and just like that, Day 1 was done.
Was it tough? Yes. Impossible? Far from it. Day 1 left me feeling a but sore and tired, but confident that I can make it through the next 20 days. Namaste, and happy yoga-ing!
The 21-Day Challenge Directory
Update: Now that I have completed (and blogged about) the full 21-Day Challenge, I thought it might be helpful to provide a full listing of the remaining posts in one place for ease of reference. As always, please feel free to comment below with any suggestions for ways to better organize this information. If you are beginning your own 21-day journey, good luck and Namaste!
- Day 2: 15-Minute Morning Sequence (done at night), and I get new yoga pants.
- Day 3: 20-Minute Core Practice.
- Day 4: 30-Minute Standing Pose Sequence (love!), and me with Jim Courier.
- Hiatus: I am attacked by the sinus ninjas.
- I’m Back: Return of the yogini. I ease back in with a repeat of the Standing Pose Sequence, plus a bonus picture of the peeping FatDog.
- Day 5: Peak Pose – Hanumanasana. Or, “I am not a flying monkey goddess.”
- Days 6 and 7: 30-Minute Tension Release – Hip Openers, and 20-Minute Evening Practice. And I get a new mat!
- Day 8: 45-Minute Fun Flow. It does not kick my ass as badly this time.
- Day 9: 15-Minute Morning Sequence. I actually follow the instructions and do it in the morning!
- Day 10: 20-Minute Core Practice. I share musings on the end of 2011.
- Day 11: 30-Minute Backbending Sequence. What’s not to love about “the ecstatic unfolding of the enraptured heart”?
- Day 12: Peak Pose – Bakasana. I have a breakthrough moment in Crow Pose: Ca-caw!
- Days 13 and 14: 30-Minute Tension Release – Shoulder Openers, and 20-Minute Evening Practice. I am underwhelmed.
- Day 15: 30-Minute Fun Flow. I am finally getting used to this.
- Days 16 and 17: 15-Minute Morning Sequence and 20-Minute Core Practice. Two practices in one day! Also, I ponder the next 21-day challenge.
- Days 18 and 19: 30-Minute Forward Bend Sequence and Peak Pose – Urdhva Dhanurasana. Two days’ worth of practices in one post (I’m not lazy, just busy!). Also, I collapse in a humiliated pile on the floor.
- Days 20 and 21: 30-Minute Tension Release – Side Bends, and 20-Minute Evening Practice. Amazing side bends, and a quiet end to a successful 21-day challenge.
- Recap: An overall review of the DVD set and reflections on my experience doing the 21-day challenge.
[...] things first: If you haven’t already, I encourage you to check out my first 21 Days of Yoga post to get the full [...]
Sounds like a plan! I hope you achieve the desired results, and as always, you now I’m in your mat… (obviously a little play on words) Don’t stress Baby Girl, it’s sooo not worth it.
Love you!
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