birthday challenge

Eight Weeks of Asana

3 Comments

At the risk of sounding about 8 years old, my birthday is in 8 weeks.

33

Haven’t really given the day or the age much thought yet but as I was practicing yoga this afternoon I thought about the birthday challenges I’ve done in the past and decided I’d like to set one for this year.

As a closure celebration to this year of 32 I will practice yoga asana 32 times over the next 8 weeks, starting today and finishing Sunday May 11th.   That means 4 practices a week, which is a stretch to my current 1-2.  A “practice” can be anything from 5 minutes of Sun Salutations to a 90 minute class but the goal is to step on the proverbial mat and focus my energy, attention, and intention 32 times before my next birthday.

Wanna join me?

I know it’s (probably) not your birthday on May 12th but we could also consider it a Mother’s Day (May 11th) challenge.  32 is the number that sounds good to me but you could certain go for 8 or 16 is even a random favorite number, like to practice yoga 23 times over the next 8 weeks.

Happy asana-ing!

 

Check-in

5 Comments

Two weeks ago I set out on a “Birthday Challenge” and it’s time to check-in with how it’s been going.

To recap, my challenge is this,

April 1-may 12 I will

Run 64 miles
Practice yoga 16 times
Do 16 Pilates workouts 
Meditate 32 minutes a week (this is going to be the hardest to achieve but I need it)

Funny thing about the meditation part.  I wrote 32 minutes a week in the post but somehow got stuck on the idea of 32 minutes TOTAL over the entire 6 weeks.  Subconscious resistance to meditating? No way. 😉

I have been meditating-and loving it-just not quite 32 minutes a week.  My body and mind have started to crave the quiet time and although it’s a huge challenge to be still, physically and mentally, I’m excited by the prospect it holds.  At first I caught myself labeling my mediation time as either ‘successful’ or not and quickly realized how unnecessary and unhelpful that is.  Yes, sometimes I find it almost impossible not to day-dream or make a grocery list as I sit but still, I sit and do the work and will count that as sucess.   Both weeks I ended up sitting for 13 minutes total per week.

I’ve been sore!  I’m finding it a little hard to recognize and respect where my body is at right now.  I’m not that out of shape and it’s coming back quickly but I am still finding it challenging to remind myself that it’s fine if I want to walk after only running a mile or that it’s cool if all the other runners pass me on the trail.  The goal is to push myself within my current limits, not to be the fastest or the most hardcore athlete out there.

Over the last two weeks I’ve run 15.5 miles, practiced yoga 4 times, and done 4 Pilates workouts, as well as taught lots of classes, walked dozens of miles, and ridden my bike a time or two.  I am feeling stronger, calmer, more flexible, and a little leaner than I was on April 1st so I would say I’m right on track!  I will bump up the intensity of my workouts a little as the weeks progress and my body adapts to the challenges I give it.

Do you get motivated to move in the Spring?  Do you notice that your workouts change depending on the season?  Spring and Fall are definitely my favorite running seasons, both because of the weather and because the scenery is beautiful and changing rapidly.