The Law School Transplant - If you don't find me helpful, hopefully you'll find me at least mildly entertaining.

Just getting here? We’re over halfway through so make sure you start from the beginning to get caught up!

I feel like things have been crazy here the last couple of days. I’m back to the grind tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll develop a better routine for myself with yoga and everything else. With a couple lapses here and there, I’ve been consistent with the 21-day challenge. Though various things (moving slow post-New Year’s Eve, underestimating the time I needed to clean and cook for our dinner party) kept me from doing it yesterday, I jumped right back in today with Day 12.

Today, like Day 5, was a 30-minute challenge pose practice. This week’s challenge pose was bakasana, which I had given a cursory try a couple times before… and almost fell flat on my face in the process. The pace of the practice was very good, and provided effective preparation for the final peak pose. It involved lots of deep bends and hip openers, as well as several poses to engage the core muscles. When I finally got to bakasana, I only managed to get my big toes about a centimeter off the ground, and even then only for half a second or so. However, when I attempted it the second time, I got all the way into the pose, and managed to stay for several seconds! It’s the little things, I tell you.

This practice was taught by Jason Crandell, who also leads the standing poses practice, and a couple others in the challenge. The way that he explains the poses and subtle movements is so easy to understand. In fact, I often find myself having “aha!” moments when he explains many very basic poses, allowing me to experience them them deeper, and in new, different and better ways. For this practice, he made a difficult pose approachable and attainable. I felt great when I was done.

Overall, it’s been a hectic holiday weekend, but one full of good friends and good times. Three years ago, I started hosting a dinner on New Year’s Day. It’s a casual affair – pajamas are welcome – and friends drop in as they are able. I have enjoyed starting this tradition of celebrating the new year with good food and conversation shared by people I love. And though today was technically a holiday, I put myself to work on Operation: Home Office Reorganization. Since writing more is an important goal for me this year, I thought it would be good to start the new year by making my office a place in which I want to work instead of one from which I want to escape. It’s far from done, but much more hospitable already.

I’m happy to say, my new year is off to a good start; how is 2012 treating you so far?

Ready for more? Check out Days 13 and 14!