Whenever I'm stuck at a crossroads in my life, I like to call on my yoga mat to get me through. As some of you have seen on social media, I embarked on a 90 day yoga challenge to get me through the summer slog and to balance my body/mind/spirit.
I'm giving myself a lot of resources so I can set myself up for success. If I have very little time, a simple morning kriya (movement ritual) can suffice. This consists of repetitive leg raises, hamstring stretches, breath practices, twists, arm movements, shoulder shrugs, and neck movements. Breathwork is key here to keep the rhythm flowing and it usually lasts me about 12 minutes.
If I have more time, I'll tack on a meditation. I'm working my way up to 15 minutes (today I was at 13 minutes). I tend to take my meditations lying down, but I may switch it up and sit depending on my energy level.
Adding on to that if time allows, is a yoga video. There are so many free ones on YouTube, but my favorite is my yoga therapy mentor's channel, Maria Shamas. Maria has a delightful energy and is an expert on the physiology of the body. I always feel amazing after doing her videos. She's even more engaging live, but she lives in the southwest United States so alas, I'll have to stick to following her virtually. The nice thing about her channel is there is a wide array of yoga class lengths: varying from 20 minutes to an hour and a half, so I can usually find a class that fits into my morning schedule.
Finally, if I have a full day off and I'm feeling spicy, I'll check out a local in-person yoga class. I'm intrigued by Pure Prana Path which is located in a neighborhood known as Los Patios, close to where I volunteer at Abode. I've only taken one class there, but they seem to be rooted in therapeutic yoga, which is what I'm looking for.
Those of you who are doing this with me, what are your tricks for success! Let's keep each other motivated! Comment below.
For day 2 I chose a new video for beginners that really allowed me to do all the practices shown. It wasn't as long as yesterday's, but it really felt good. Even Thor, our sweet fur baby, is allowing me some quiet alone time while I yoga by resting in his bed. I focused on my breathing a lot.
Ok. I did it! Day 1 done. I did a 20 minute very beginner session at home. It was not easy and I could not do all the things yet, but I kept doing the things I could for the full time. I kept myself in a calm state and focused on ME. (I stretched things that really hadn't been worked in a while and I'll feel it later, but it felt so good.) Thank you for being a motivator for me and I'll try to do the same for you. Keep it up!