Hello out there world! I have some exciting news in the world of yoga that I wanted to share with all of you. It's been about 6 months since I set my NYRs and I've been hard at work on all of them. I have altered my approach slightly since my last post thanks to the insights of a wonderful friend. That is - make monthly goals. Yes of course having a long term plan is essential in life - but what about the little steps we can take (your to-do list doesn't count) each month to get us to the trophy? So since I last checked in on the progress of my NYRs - I decided to take yoga on the monthly level to try out this new approach…and I failed - thankfully! I may be confusing you right now, so listen up. I set a goal to do 20 yoga classes in 30 days (or 1 month). I figured - a few 4 class weeks here and a few 3 class weeks there and I'd be done. I was wrong - it was horrible. You have to understand my backstory with yoga - my 1st class was in a basement room of NYSC in 2011, the morning after a long night out enjoying all that NYC had to offer - and I was terrible. Awful. Promised myself I would never go back again. I had a few dabblings again between then and now but flash forward from my 1st class to January of 2013 - my 1st official full year living in California. I decided now that I lived on the West Coast, I was going to try on this West Coast lifestyle for a bit. A lovely encouraging friend from work named Katie finally dragged me to class with her after I blew her off at least 4 times. I was intimated, hot, scared, and as far from Gumby flexible as possible. But I went, I stayed, and I didn't hate it! So I tried a free week at the studio, then signed up for their Groupon deal, then became a member. Within a matter of months I had forced myself out of my comfort zone and onto my mat - and I was pretty happy about it.
Now onto January 2014, when this yoga NYR was made - I had been doing yoga for a year at that point but wanted more, wanted to really make something out of my practice. That's when the 20 classes in 30 days happen. The reason it was miserable? Not only were my elbows tender and burning with pain, but I felt as though the challenge had ruined yoga for me. I made it to 16/20 classes - which is not half bad, but not the point. I realized that in this challenge, I loved yoga, and that I didn't need to check a certain number of classes off of a list to incorporate it into my daily life. That was the good news that came out of this whole NYR and challenge - I had finally realized my love of yoga had nothing to do with how frequently I showed up on my mat, but rather how frequently I could take what I learned in class off my mat. And that truly it is the goal of yoga.
Since then, I've shown up on my mat no more than 2 or 3 days each week, and when I am not in my practice, you bet damn sure I am trying to make sure my mind is. In other workout classes, I push myself knowing I am strong and I can finish just like my yogis tell me. I catch myself tightening my core to fix my posture, reminding myself that this will help me get dolphin pose next time. And in times of stress or frustration, I remind myself to breath, and to focus my attention on only those things that serve and do good in my life and the lives of others. Am I perfect? Absolutely not - but that's when you'll find me back on my mat, seeking more. And when I am on my mat now, I don't take my time for granted or try to check the class off the list. I am present, I am aware, and I am there because I know that 1 hour will push me to insert all the good yoga has to offer into all of the other parts of my life.
xoxo and Namaste ;) - AA
