Welcome to the 30 Day Yoga Challenge! My hopes in doing this are two-fold: 1) to challenge you by nudging you out of your comfort zone and 2) to help us all get into the practice of doing something active (stretching, strengthening, relaxing, etc.), no matter how little, every day.
There are no rules here - you can obviously do as much or as little as you like each day. But there are a few guidelines to follow:
1. As always, listen to your body. If something isn't feeling right (even if it's a pose you've mastered before), take a break or try it again another day.
2. Choose the level that is best for you. I've broken it into two groups: Beginner/Intermediate and Advanced. If you're newer to yoga, you will probably want to stick with the first group. If you've been practicing yoga for a while, start with the first group, and then if you feel like it, you can venture into the second group. Or you could just start with the second group if you're feeling froggy (after warming up, or course).
3. Don't just jump into the pose for the day! Make sure you warm up properly. A good warm-up could be walking for a few minutes, jumping jacks, a few sun salutations - anything to get your blood flowing and to help your muscles loosen up a bit. I plan on doing most of these after my normal workout for the day so that I'm already nice and warm. Most of the poses (especially in the Advanced category) also include instruction for poses to help prepare you for the final pose. Make sure to do those - not only to help prevent injury but also to give you the best chance of actually nailing the final pose.
4. Don't be afraid of failure. It's how we learn and how we grow stronger. I don't think I know anyone who can perfectly do all of these poses (yours truly included). Of the poses on this list that I can do, most of them I can only do because I failed at doing them...a lot. If I had just quit after the first time, I still wouldn't be able to do them. The whole point of this to get uncomfortable, fail a whole bunch of times, and hopefully through that process figure a few things out that will help you in your yoga practice.
5. Remember to breathe. Deep inhales and exhales through the nose.
6. If appropriate, make sure to do both sides.
7. On Sundays, the poses are more restorative (for both groups), so plan to hang out in those positions for 2 - 5 minutes (it will feel amazing, I promise!). The other days have a mix of balance, arm balance, inversions, backbends, and just really good stretches. Try to hold each of these poses in the Beginner/Intermediate group for 30 seconds to a minute and in the Advanced group for 5 -10 breaths (or however long you can).
8. Don't forget to have fun!
Are you ready to do this?! For each day of the 30 days of the month, there is a pose to the right. If you already know how to do the pose, you can go for it. If not, you can click on the name of each pose, and there are links associated with each one that will take you to a place where the pose is demonstrated and, in some cases, broken down.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me! I can't wait to hear how it goes for each of you!
No comments:
Post a Comment