Yoga challenge, last day!

I did it! I still can’t believe it. Yesterday was the last day of my 30 day yoga challenge. I did yoga every day for 30 days. That’s just over 35 hours of yoga.

Since it was our last day, Julie and I decided to do two classes. Last time we did two classes in one day, we took the day off and had a two hour break in between classes. This time, it was after work, back to back classes.

We were so excited before class, because on day one, this day seemed so far away! It seemed almost impossible, on some days.

Our first class of the day was powerflow with Amber, which was perfect, since our first class of the challenge was with her too! If you want to do a challenge like this, find a place where you are comfortable and get to know your teachers. It makes a huge difference. Get to know the other people who work at the studio too. Chances are, they’re pretty awesome!

Also, don’t wait for a good time. This was a terrible time for me to do a 30 day challenge, and for Julie as well. But if you wait for the perfect time, you’ll never do it. It’s better to try for 30 days and miss a few, than not to try at all.

At the end of savasana in Amber’s class, she mentionned that two girls had just completed a personnal 30 day challenge. That’s when it hit me. That’s us! We did it. We’re so cool! I was so excited at that moment, because I always did one day at a time, and now it was like reaching a finish line.

After that first class, we relaxed for a while. We also had a snack.

Then, we did a yin class. Since it was the last day of our challenge, I did dragon pose instead of sitting it out. I didn’t like it any more than usual.

The girls at the studio really are wonderful. They even had a gift for us, which was so nice of them! We got tops with the Pure Yoga Ottawa logo. I think we look very pleased with ourselves, our new tops, our whole experience.

I thought I had learned a lot during my first week of yoga, but I learned a lot more after a month. Here are some things you might learn if you do yoga every day for 30 days.

– You will learn to love downward dog. Also, your heels will come down more.

– You will realize you might never be one of those super-bendy people. You will be ok with this.

– You will become really motivated to one day do a headstand. It doesn’t matter if it takes a while.

– You will realize that even if you miss your favourite tv show, you will be happy.

– You will be proud of what you can do. Hello, tree.

– You will never be able to use “I don’t have time to go to class” as an excuse again.

– You will figure out how to balance work, yoga and a social life. You might have to give up on housework.

– You will learn the importance of the buddy system. I couldn’t have done it alone.

– You will discover what type of yoga you love best. Hot yoga all the way!

There were some days during the challenge where I was super motivated. There were some days where I only went to class because of the challenge. But that’s ok, the challenge got me there and that’s what counts. Some days were easy, some were hard, but I never thought of giving up. I’m glad I did it all the way. I feel more amazing right now that I have in a long time!