At one point in the now-distant past, I became a certified yoga instructor. At the same time, Bret got his personal trainer certification, and the two of us were offered jobs at the same gym in San Antonio.
Strife always followed our relationship, but honestly, this was a great period in our lives. Our little gym family was incredibly tight-knit, and I am happy to say that I am still friends with many of them to this very day.
Yoga was super-important to me back in those days; I mean, I HAD to do it as often as possible.
I studied multiple disciplines and took as many outside classes as I could. Magazines, books, DVDs – if they pertained to yoga, I consumed them steadily.
After being 5’2 and 3/4 for my entire adult life, I even managed to make it to a full 5’3 due to all the spinal stretching and decompressing. It was downright miraculous that a 37-year-old woman actually “grew” a quarter of an inch.
Yoga was truly my magic.
In August 2017, I started a challenge called “Yoga Every Damn Day.” It was to encourage daily yoga practice every single day, for a full year, no matter what.
“Streaks” like that are something that I become borderline obsessed over; I have well over 1500 straight days on Duolingo right now, and had nearly 12 years of daily log-in on an app called My Fitness Pal before they changed the format.
Those 12 years included Bret’s death, and so did my Yoga Every Damn Day challenge.
On the day he left this world, I had already done my daily yoga. The next day, I have no idea how, but I picked myself up off the ground and managed a few quick Asanas.
Then I kept going.
Later that summer, I completed the full year.
I had intentions to do another year, but life got away from me – which I find hilarious. I mean, I kept going in the face of death, but it was life that bested me and my daily yoga practice there for a while.
Over the last few years, I have managed to do a little bit here and there, but I never started to live and breathe by it again as I had there for a while.
Until…
…now.
On Friday, August 21, one week after seeing the Facebook memory of my having finished that full year of Yoga Every Damn Day, I committed to it again.
I am doing this; there is absolutely no reason why I cannot or should not; I mean, if I could persevere through the worst year of my life, why can’t I do it now that I have a lot more contentment in my world?
So, I’m doing it again. It doesn’t have to be 90 or even 30 minutes every day – sometimes just a few Sun Salutations is all I can manage, and that is good enough. (Chair yoga and seated exercises are also acceptable!)
It felt so unbelievably good to have committed to that full year, and I am always looking for healthy new ways to feel good. (Lord knows I’ve picked some unhealthy ways in the past.)
And just for grins, I’ve recently taken up Pilates too, although I am not sure I’ll do that every day. Who knows, though?
This isn’t a judgy post preaching about fitness and the importance of regular exercise, but it IS so beneficial to both physical and mental health.
If you’ve been considering adding exercise to your routine, this is your sign. 🧘♀️
Even a little bit is better than none, and who knows? Maybe one day you’ll look up and find that a year has passed and you are an entirely different person than you were when you first started.
~~~
108 Sun Salutations on New Year’s Day is another yoga tradition that I did once and have wanted to repeat. Maybe next New Year’s???
Modified Eagle Pose – one of my favorites.
