Back on the yoga mat again

Yesterday I woke up to a body that ached all over.
But not because of some killer yoga workout.
No.
I ached because my body was missing yoga.
How can that be? I promised to do yoga once a day every day for the month of March.
Well...
Time to fess up.
I pushed that promise to the far recesses of my brain throughout last week. I've skipped approximately 8 days this month.
Bailing on my commitment.
Does not feel good.
 
Has this ever happened to you?
You promised yourself you'd eat healthier. No more chocolate. No more potato chips. But then someone leaves a bag of chips behind at your house after a dinner party. And you eat one. Then you eat a handful. Then you think, "Well, I just blew it. There goes my promise. I may as well finish the bag."

I may as well finish the bag?! Crazy, right?

Well, that is exactly what I almost did with my yoga commitment.

"Well, I missed a day. There goes my perfect month of yoga. Won't matter if I miss another day. Or another...I'll just pretend I never made the promise in the first place. I may as well just burn my yoga mat. Get rid of the evidence."

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pretend that I had made that promise. That's always there.

The logic gets so crazy in those moments. I mean, who am I hiding from? Myself. The side of myself that wants to be better. And when I break my word to myself I'm only indulging the side of myself that's okay with being complacent. But that is not the game I'm up to. I'm not okay with complacency.

That doesn't mean that I expect to be perfect. That just means that no matter how many times I break my word, I'll keep going back to the mat, so to speak.

Yesterday I could feel my body calling out for Downward Facing Dog. It wanted to be stretched. Lengthened. So I re-committed. I realize there remains only a few more days in the month. But no matter. It's not over. Every day counts.

So last night at 10:52 PM, I got back on the yoga mat again. It felt great. The yoga felt physically energizing (my body was literally buzzing all over after) but also emotionally invigorating. Because I did what I said I was going to do.

On a somewhat related note in the world of March Madness, who isn't inspired by VCU's road to the Final Four?! As Coach Shaka Smart said after their win last night, "Anything is possible."

VCU Reaches 2011 Final Four Thanks to Dominance, Not Luck - SB Nation

March YOGA Madness

Maybe it's the date on the calendar. March 1st already. Already! Reminding me that time continues to click away.

Or it's the fact that the snow has almost completely melted and the sun is blazing promising a high of 46 degrees. Giving Chicagoans that Spring feeling. That time-to-get-exercising-again feeling. That bathing-suit-season-is-just-around-the-corner feeling.

Or perhaps it's the fact that my little baby is now over 17 pounds and I feel that added weight in my body. In my shoulders, my arms, my lower back.

Likely it's a combination of it all.

But no matter the reason, last night before collapsing into bed feeling my age in my joints, it hit me.

I need yoga.

I need to get back in touch with my body.

I need to breathe.

I need to nurture myself.

I need to take time out of my day - even if only for 10 minutes - to breathe, stretch and check-in with my body.

I need yoga.

My Month of Yoga
So for the entire month of March I am committing to doing yoga every single day.

Every day.

Every single day.

Without skipping.

Without excuses.

Yoga once a day every day for at least ten minutes.

I know... ten minutes doesn't sound like much. But it's so much better than nothing. And if I commit to ten minutes, it's more than likely those ten minutes will stretch into something longer.

Ten minutes isn't intimidating.

And it's enough for at least a few sun salutations.

My goal is an hour a day. But there are some days that it's too challenging to carve out that hour. So at the very least it's ten minutes.

I'm really excited about this. I can't remember the last time I exercised every single day for a month without fail. I'm looking forward to having a conversation with my body again. And getting to know each other. I expect to be good friends by the end of the month.

The cost of doing yoga
Yoga classes are not in our budget.
And neither is a gym membership.
That means I'll be practicing yoga at home. Luckily I already have a mat and yoga blocks.
But that's it. I mean, I don't have any yoga DVDs.
So this is where I could use some help.

If there are any Yogis out there reading this... could you please recommend your favorite (beginner) poses to do if you only had ten minutes to practice?

Also, any online sources for Yoga inspiration?

Thank you so much! I'll be checking back in with my progress.

And lastly, does anyone out there want to join me?

Please talk to me in the comments below!

Happy March 1st, everyone!

Love,
Steph

(the above image is from yogawonders.com)