In the month of September, I woke up every morning at seven am, brushed my teeth, rolled out my yoga mat, and participated in Yoga with Adriene’s most recent 30 day yoga challenge. Adriene has tons of free yoga classes on Youtube, but I thought doing a challenge would be the best way to make yoga a habit in my life and to get myself to really commit. Spoiler alert: I did it! I completed the challenge and I’m pretty proud of myself.
Here are eight things I learned throughout my 30 day yoga journey.
- Getting up in the morning and thinking about myself was so much nicer than thinking about other people.
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I didn’t realize how much of a difference it would make to not start my day on social media, but it really did! When I go on social media right after waking up, I feel very distracted, unfulfilled, and like I’m not enough throughout the day. But with yoga first, I wasn’t so stuck on comparing myself to others. Instead, I was more present and content each day!
- Running and intense cardio aren’t the only effective ways to workout.
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This is something I believed for a long time, and it actually kept me from exercising because… I hate doing both of those things. With yoga, however, I felt happy and excited to push myself during a practice. I don’t know if it’s the spiritual/mental wellness component that made it more enjoyable for me, but it is so much easier to exercise when the activity is enjoyable, too. Yoga isn’t always about pushing yourself to your breaking point, but more about finding what is right for your own body. Because of yoga, I’ve become more understanding, patient, and kind to myself.
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Strength is not only about physical wellbeing, but mental wellbeing, too.
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In yoga, your mindset is everything. Learning to have a strong mind is what made my body stronger. This idea is something I’m going to carry with me for a long time. My body can’t be strong if my mind isn’t.
- Less is more.
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It’s the same principle as “work harder, not smarter.” “Soften” was a word that we focused on in one of the practices. Adriene asks, “How can you soften?” and, “Where are you working harder than you need to?” I think those questions are important to assess the areas in life where it isn’t beneficial to push myself. Now, I think about ways I can “soften” daily.
- Perfection doesn’t exist.
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So can we stop trying now? I was a dancer for most of my life, and a big part of ballet is striving for perfect technique. I often wanted my own body to be “perfect,” and that was something I struggled with. It has been eye-opening and liberating to use my body to move and form shapes that feed my soul instead of making me feel imperfect or unwhole.
- Making time for myself is important.
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Even if that means waking up at seven in the morning. Even if that means less time for sleep, social media, or doing homework. Every morning, yoga felt like a new way I was able to show myself love. Yes, those other things are important, but so am I. And so is the relationship I have with myself.
- Just keep breathing.
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Cue Ariana Grande: Just keep breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin’ and breathiiiiiiiiiin’…. And oh, I gotta keep… keep on breathin’! Really though… the world feels like a better place after a few inhales and exhales. (I’m convinced if we all collectively did a breathing exercise together, Donald Trump would magically cease to exist.)
- Just “being” is enough.
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I put a lot of pressure on myself. When I do yoga, though, that pressure (usually) disappears. Sometimes I even feel pressure to feel relaxed or to let go of what is currently stressing me out. Doing yoga is a reminder that being distracted is okay, too. Showing up on the mat is the most important part, and no amount of forcing will make an experience better. Now that I know I can do yoga consistently, I don’t know if I’ll do it every single day. But you know what? That’s totally okay. That’s the beauty of life, and thanks to yoga, I’ve realized it: You don’t always have to have a plan. You don’t always have to be okay (yoga mats are great at catching tears). You don’t even have to be whatever you think you should be. You just have to be. And as soon as I step on my mat, I know that just being is enough.