Reflection: 30-Day Yoga Challenge

I moved to St. Louis a year ago from Republic of ‘Boulder’. If you are thinking that Boulder has some decent yoga, you’re wrong. Boulder has epic yoga. I was so lucky to practice with some incredible Boulder teachers, as well as others who visited during the Hanuman Festival I attended last spring before we moved.

Luckily, YogaGlo has enabled me to continue practicing with these teachers despite leaving town. (Check out more information about YogaGlo from a previous post, here.) One of the several teachers that I was in awe of at Hanuman Festival 2012, and who I have practiced many times with via YogaGlo, is Amy Ippoliti (@Amy_Ippoliti).

So, when I saw Amy Ippoliti’s 30-day yoga challenge I was ready. Bring. It. On.

What’s so cool about Amy Ippoliti? After taking a two hour yoga class from Amy at Hanuman last year, my friend and I discussed that evening over dinner what we thought her most amazing trait was.

Our conclusion?
A toss up between her teaching/knowledge/alignment cues, voice, skin, and her awesome (seriously, awesome) presence. Yes, this chica is a pretty remarkable human being and when she put out a challenge, I was excited to participate.

What was the challenge, exactly?
During each day in June (should you choose to accept this mission), you would: do yoga, juice a healthy beverage, and perform a decluttering (am I making up a word, here?) act. I don’t have a juicer...yet. As well, since I moved about 50 times in the past 10 years (I am not even exaggerating - that much) I don’t have much to declutter. I’m actually in more more need for a personal decorator than a declutter specialist. Suffice to stay I opted out of the get-rid-of-clutter challenge. Alas! The yoga portion of the challenge was on. Coming off a marathon this past spring, I was excited to switch gears for a yoga goal rather than a running one.

I wanted to share with you a few of the lessons I learned throughout the past month.

1. I can practice without incense burning, smelling putoli oil, and/or admiring Tibetan flags. Note: I do love practicing in a yoga studio, but have concluded that I don’t need it to be committed to my yoga practice.
2. I don’t have to practice yoga for 60-minutes to reap benefits of yoga. One night I practiced yoga for 8-minutes and it still brought me joy, put life in perspective, and gave me a sense of accomplishment.
3. I can practice non-judgement on myself  (I’ve always been fairly decent of not judging others) while I try to perfect a particular asana (posture). I practiced handstand 27 different days in June. Rather than telling myself I was clumsy etc. I chose to marvel at how much my handstand has evolved in the past month. Clearly no one will confuse me with Shawn Johnson (not today, not ever) but my handstand is honest-to-goodness getting there.
4. I can laugh at myself when I fall gracefully awkwardly out of handstand at an outdoor Lululemon yoga event. Message? Humility = fun. Being humble not only makes me more fun to be around, it allows me to take more risks because I don’t fear looking silly. Love this.
5. When I started yoga in 2006 - I wanted complete quiet to practice while practicing at home. (Good luck with that, Mama). I’ve learned to adapt since baby #1 arrived, and even more so when we welcomed #2. But this past month I have even learned how to enjoy yoga in situations that I never thought possible. Door bell ringing, Sesame Street on in the background, my partner making work calls...you name it. I’m proud that I can maintain my focus and have learned to relish in sharing my yoga space/time with those in my life who matters most.
6. I can practice yoga while watching the NHL’s Stanley Cup championship game. (You can take the girl out of Canada but you can’t take the Canada out of the girl.) This was the only time I practiced in front of a TV (I know it doesn’t seem very yoga - ish) during the challenge. As a kid, I always watched playoff hockey - along with my four siblings and our parents - and it’s just one of those childhood traditions I can’t let go of. Lesson? Sometimes we can ‘do it all’ if we are willing to let go of “ideal” in all that we do.
7. I took a few days off during the 30-day yoga challenge. What? I failed? I don’t think so - I think this best illustrates how I passed this ‘test’. You see, I had out-of-town guests on a couple of occasions in June. Since yoga time is typically 9:00-10:00 p.m., I chose to reconnect with these amazing people and skip the practice. Lesson? Balance. It didn’t feel right “stressing” about the challenge in lieu of being present with people I love and respect dearly. It didn’t mean I stopped practicing indefinitely. I got back to it the next day again. And, I lived to write about it.
8. I was totally (and remain) inspired to ‘Turn Up Your Volume’ (As Amy Ippoliti teaches) in all areas of my life. I’m consciously applying  lessons learned on the mat to my relationships (friendships, family), career, spirituality, etc. excited about what’s to come. Couple this lesson with Kathryn Budig’s “aim true” mantra and I’m feeling rather empowered. It’s a good thing.
9. I learned how to spell Amy Ippoliti’s last name without Googling it or looking at her website. I’m smarter than I look.
10. I concluded that funds set aside to purchase rugs to reduce the echoing sounds from my high-ceiling-rugless-family room are now going toward an organic garden. Lesson? This yoga challenge helped this chica to be reminded of what I really want out of my ‘one wild and precious life’. [Stay tuned for my garden blog...eek. So fun.]

(If you would like to learn more about Amy, and her yoga teaching and retreats, check out her website.)

Update
It’s July 2nd. The “challenge” is over, but my yoga practice will remain as consistent as ever. Yoga teaches me many lessons which help me to reach my potential. I’m truly convinced that the world needs more happy and yoga makes me happy. I invite you to consider a healthy challenge - and, let me know how it goes. Remember, a healthy challenge isn’t a punishment. The healthier we live, the more clearly we understand healthy behaviors are in fact the biggest luxury in our lives. Perspective. Moreover, they are often the easiest to attain when a plan is put into action and the focus is on health and potential (not dress sizes and diets).

How about you?
Have you ever done a 30-day challenge in yoga, or any other type of health related goal?

What lessons have you learned from yoga, or another type of physical activity?

A Glimpse of the 30-Day Yoga Challenge

A few friends joined me to Sun Salutations.

On the summer solstice, I invited a few friends to join me for Sun Salutations to give thanks for the new season, and to acknowledge all the possibilities that the summer might bring us.

Only thing more fun than a free yoga practice in Queeny Park, St Louis, Co? Having my partner bike our girls up to the park to meet me apres yoga. We had a great time finding a cache via geocaching on our way home from the yoga class.

A shot captured by a Lululemon employee post yoga-in-the-park. Here are eco-friendly balloons with our specific goals and action plans attached. My little girls loved stealing/helping others release their balloons into the air.

Me on a typical night this past June.

MacGyver captured this shot. It’s just me on a typical night this past June. You can find me in such a posture around 9:15 p.m. It’s my time to practice, unwind, and remind myself not only how grateful I am in life, but also how it’s my responsibility to take care of my health.