30 days of yoga challenge - my experiences

More exercise in my daily life; feeling more comfortable in my own body; and getting fitter: These were the goals I started my yoga challenge with. But doing yoga every day for 30 days straight—can I really do that? A report of experience.

How it all began

We all know it: New year, new resolutions. A fresh start. The chance to do better. In my case, that meant starting to exercise more. Not because I was unhappy with my appearance—that hasn't been about me for a while now. For me, exercise is much more a way to strengthen my body, keep it fit, and give something back to it. For everything it does for me every day, every minute.

For a long time, however, I struggled to find a sport that really suited me. funThe pandemic didn't exactly make things easier for me – gyms were closed, and most other ways to exercise were virtually impossible. That left me with home workouts. I managed to get on the mat every now and then, but overall, far too rarely for my liking. I wanted to get to the point where exercise was a natural part of my everyday life. Exercise should become a habit.

At the end of last year, I found out via YouTube and Instagram that Adriene (from the YouTube channel Yoga with Adriene) will be starting her free “30 Day Yoga Journey” again in January. She has been doing this for many years now. “This is the Opportunity!” I thought to myself, and was immediately hooked. “After these 30 days, something like this will have become established...!”

[A small note: Adriene Mishler is American. Therefore, she leads her yoga practices exclusively in English. If you are looking for a German-language alternative, Mady Morrison She's in good hands. She also offers monthly challenges that work very similarly to Adriene's. Mady is an incredibly great person, and I can also highly recommend her!

How does it all work?

Adriene uploads a new yoga session to her YouTube channel every day for 30 days. Each video represents a part of the 30-day challenge. Specifically, the goal is to Yoga every day for 30 days in a row to practiceThere's no set time—after all, the videos are available around the clock (and even afterward, by the way). Everyone "yogis" whenever they have time. The videos are sometimes shorter (15-20 minutes long) and sometimes longer (30-40 minutes long). They build on each other in some ways, but could also be practiced independently.

The cool thing about it: You do yoga "together" with thousands (even hundreds of thousands!) of other people every day. Each one for themselves, yet somehow all united.

Adriene's Community is incredibly loving, motivating, and benevolent. In the comments and on social media, people support and encourage each other as much as they can. It's truly comforting. Because even if you miss a day or simply can't mentally or physically complete a yoga session, both Adriene and her community are understanding. No matter how it goes, you're never alone.

In addition to the YouTube playlist, in which all videos are saved and updated, there is also a Calendar to print. This shows you clearly which video is on which day and how much time you should plan for the unit.

The 30-day journey has a different theme each year. This theme appears repeatedly in the videos and contributes to a meaningful structure of the challenge.

By the way, Adriene deliberately does not call her program “Challenge”, but “Journey,” meaning “journey.” With this, she wants to take the pressure off and acknowledge that this journey can look different for each person. And that this is good and right.

My goals and expectations

I have to admit that I've tried several 30-day yoga challenges before. However, I always gave up or let it slide after half a month at the latest.

My biggest goal was to complete the 30 days consistently to follow through. And I did it without having to force myself to do it. I wanted to Fun and the ease not lose. That was very, very important to me.

Another goal was to get back to normal after the 30 days fitter to feelI deliberately left it open how exactly this would look. I didn't want to set unrealistic goals, and I didn't really know what to expect after 30 days of physical activity. But in any Somehow the physical activity would have an impact, I thought.

Apart from that, I had few expectations for the challenge. I knew that there would be days on this "journey" when I would find it difficult to motivate myself. My expectation was quite clear: not always easy would become.

My experiences – The time during the challenge

motivation

My expectation that it wouldn't always be easy proved true. However, I was very surprised by how well I handled the occasional lack of motivation.

On days when it was not so easy for me to roll out the mat, two mantras helped a lot. Both are from Adriene herself.

The first mantra was: "I choose to show up on the mat for the next 30 days. I can and I will."/“I choose (consciously decide) to show up on the mat in the next 30 days. I can & I will.”

The most important wording for me was: I want/would like/consciously decide to do this. NOT: I must/should! This kind of wording always reminded me that I wanted to do this for myself. wanted.

The second mantra was: “The beginning is always the hardest part.”/“The beginning is always the hardest part.”

Adriene said this sentence almost every day.And when you got to the point where you heard Adriene say that, you knew you'd already accomplished the hardest part—taking the time to roll out your mat and start the video. Knowing and hearing that gave me incredible strength on some days. It felt like I'd already accomplished something.

The fun factor

I definitely had fun with the challenge. Adriene's videos are very complex The units were nicely varied in terms of intensity and focus, so that never boring In between, breathing exercises or mini meditation sessions were included. So, it wasn't just about asanas (the typical postures) themselves, but everything else that makes yoga what it is.

What also gave me a lot of joy was Benji, Adriene's dog, who's always there at my practice. Sometimes he's lying in the background, dozing, sometimes he's running across the frame, and sometimes he's doing downward dog. It might sound silly, but I looked forward to seeing Benji every day. 😂

My favorite part of the yoga sessions, however, was Adriene herself. She has a super pleasant manner and manages to meet each person where they're at. Whether beginner or pro, Adriene has a suitable tip, variation, or piece of advice for everyone. Even if you're not in her studio at the time.
In addition, it is super funny and entertaining, which makes the sessions very relaxed and easygoingShe uses a lot of metaphors to illustrate the correct execution of the poses, which really helped me a lot.

The minutes fly by because of her teaching style.

The surroundings

In the first few days, I did my daily yoga session as early as possible in my Morning integrated. I thought the videos should be part of my morning routine so I can start the day fresh. I'm the type of person who exercises in the morning anyway, because I don't have as much motivation to do it in the evening.

Well, how things have changed! One day during the first week, I didn't have time in the morning because I had a university event quite early. So I ended up doing my session in the evening before bed. How good that felt! I felt like I could let go of the tensions of the day and slept like a baby.

From then on, I did about 80% of the 30 yoga sessions on Evening practiced. It worked really well for me, and I really looked forward to the half hour of relaxation in the evening—just for me.

I want to be honest here: I didn't have enough time to do yoga on two days. But instead of beating myself up and telling myself I failed the challenge, I simply continued the next day. Then I caught up on the previous day's video and then did the next day's session.
Even though I actually not really 30 days in a row I did yoga (after all, I had two yoga-free days in between), the challenge was a huge success for me.Personally, I don’t think the challenge was a failure. 😌

One thing that is also part of the surroundings and of course cannot be missed during yoga: Comfortable clothingthat you feel comfortable in. For me, this usually involves a sports bra, a loose shirt and jogging or harem pantsBut here, too, everyone has their own preferences. The main thing is comfort!

Transformations & progress

I've already noticed some progress during my yoga journey. Here's a short list of things that have changed during this time:

• I was increasingly more balancedMore relaxed and less stressed. So much so that my boyfriend noticed it, too. 😋
• I felt more vital and fitter. And that after just the first three days.
• I felt my muscles for the first time in a long time. With each day, I was able to hold the plank a little longer and more securely. And with each day, I found it easier to endure even strenuous poses.
• Over time I became more and more more mobileI'm not the most flexible person, and admittedly not the stiffest either. Nevertheless, I've noticed some progress!
• I was more mindful with my body. I was much more aware of it and sensed what it needed more quickly (or at all!). Even off the yoga mat. I found myself occasionally correcting my posture at my desk or feeling the need to move.
• The breathing exercisesI've incorporated the tips Adriene teaches into my daily life. They've helped me tremendously – whether before an exam when I was stressed, or in bed at night when I couldn't fall asleep.
• Apart from these evenings, my Sleep improved enormously.

Of course, I can't say for sure whether all these changes and progress occurred exclusively or solely because of the yoga challenge. After all, changes are usually the product of several variables. Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure that the daily dose of yoga played a major role.

By the way, I haven’t noticed any negative effects or changes. 🤗

What happens next – The time after the challenge

If you haven’t already guessed: In my eyes, the 30-day challenge or journey a complete successAfter 30 days I have just carried on! And yoga still does me a lot of good; I wouldn't want to miss it anymore!

So, with the help of the challenge, I've achieved my goal of feeling fitter and doing something for my body regularly while enjoying exercise. If I don't do yoga for a day or two, that's perfectly fine. After all, I can consciously decide what I want to do or not do. As Adriene always says so beautifully: "Find what feels good(“Find what feels good”). After all, yoga also has a lot to do with mindfulness.

Unfortunately, I had to take a break from yoga due to foot surgery.I don't know when I'll be able to hop on the mat next. But one thing, the I know and which I realized again through the foot surgery and the resulting restriction of movement is this: Being able to move, play sports, run, or dance is a privilege. And we simply forget that far too often in everyday life...

If you would like to learn more about mindfulness, healthy eating, sustainability or family and pregnancy, Check out more exciting blog articles on these topics here.