Last night I slept less than 5 hours and those were very restless hours of tossing and turning where I woke up several times with pain in my joints, general discomfort and a busy mind. I finally gave in and got out of bed when I heard the call to prayer echoing through our neighbourhood around 6am.
Shuffling downstairs to make my morning cup of tea, I was tempted to give Day 3 a miss on this 14-day yoga challenge. I mean, I had plenty of legitimate excuses not to do yoga today: no sleep, swollen joints, painful back, and general grumpiness. The thought of skipping my yoga practice today was dismissed almost as quickly as it popped into my mind because I kept picturing myself at the ashram in India, day in and day out having to get up, dress up and show up no matter what. I need to prepare myself physically and mentally for the challenges of the 300-hour yoga teacher training which will begin next month. This was definitely turning into a get-up-dress-up-show-up sort of day.
Around midday after running a few errands and preparing what I hope will be a delicious vegan dessert for a dinner party tonight, I decided to roll out my mat for Day 3. Within the first few minutes and to my pleasant surprise, the practice felt more accessible than it has in the last few days. I didn't have to retreat to child's pose while Fiji led me through a brief yet powerful vinyasa flow session and I felt stronger overall. It's only Day 3! Imagine how I might feel at Day 10 or by Day 14!
It seems that getting up, dressing up and showing up was better for my yoga body and mind than hiding under the covers and staying in bed. My mood has brightened, my body feels just the right balance of strength and exhaustion and my mind is alert yet uncluttered. All of this and today's practice was only about 30 minutes long.
Bring on Day 4!
Shuffling downstairs to make my morning cup of tea, I was tempted to give Day 3 a miss on this 14-day yoga challenge. I mean, I had plenty of legitimate excuses not to do yoga today: no sleep, swollen joints, painful back, and general grumpiness. The thought of skipping my yoga practice today was dismissed almost as quickly as it popped into my mind because I kept picturing myself at the ashram in India, day in and day out having to get up, dress up and show up no matter what. I need to prepare myself physically and mentally for the challenges of the 300-hour yoga teacher training which will begin next month. This was definitely turning into a get-up-dress-up-show-up sort of day.
Around midday after running a few errands and preparing what I hope will be a delicious vegan dessert for a dinner party tonight, I decided to roll out my mat for Day 3. Within the first few minutes and to my pleasant surprise, the practice felt more accessible than it has in the last few days. I didn't have to retreat to child's pose while Fiji led me through a brief yet powerful vinyasa flow session and I felt stronger overall. It's only Day 3! Imagine how I might feel at Day 10 or by Day 14!
It seems that getting up, dressing up and showing up was better for my yoga body and mind than hiding under the covers and staying in bed. My mood has brightened, my body feels just the right balance of strength and exhaustion and my mind is alert yet uncluttered. All of this and today's practice was only about 30 minutes long.
Bring on Day 4!
