30 Days Of Yoga
Hot damn ya'll. I did it. 30 straight days of yoga, completed. And holy shit, I am so very proud of me.
I know it may not seem like much to some people, but to me, this accomplishment mean everything, and if you will let me, I'd love to explain why.
Over the last little while of my life, I have been struggling with some things. (Ok, I am not here to fool you, I am here to be honest. So let's back that up and say, most of my life). My mental health, balancing my work life, personal life, family life, my children, learning and applying better self care, and trudging through and dealing with all the trauma that has surrounded me in my life, and come up in therapy as I worked through it.
In all of that, the underlying problem that I have been struggling with is consistency.
Before I go on, I want to say that first of all, it is completely normal and ok to let go and live in the chaos for a while, I am learning that sometimes that is what we need.
But other times, consistency really is needed, it's very important and critical for living your best life to the fullest.
Drinking the right amount of water, eating healthy foods, keeping yourself clean, brushing your teeth, keeping good sleeping habits, taking care of yourself, taking care of your children, exercising, getting your work done...
These may be such a simple tasks for some people, but for others, these can be a serious struggle to do consistently.
I got to a point where honestly, I was just tired of struggling. I wanted to pick just one damn thing that would be beneficial to my life and do it. Consistently. For 30 whole days. To prove to myself that I could do this. That I could make the necessary changes and be consistent and make a difference in my life.
And of course, because I am who I am, I made the challenge that much more difficult on myself, by not picking something easy like meditating every day or taking 5 minutes to deep breathe. Of course not. I chose to get physical. I chose yoga.
I learned so much from this challenge I set for myself. I struggled harder than I realized I would. I hurt, a lot. I wanted to give up, many times. I cried. I wanted to give myself excuses, and accept them, I offered myself every bribe I could think of. But I refused. I pushed myself and kept going.
Some days, damn. Some days I hated rolling out my mat. I didn't want to step onto it. But I took off my socks and stepped my feet down... and by the time yoga ended, I was ALWAYS smiling, I always felt better about myself and so damn proud of me and glad that I got through another day.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE yoga, but even something you love can be hard when you use it to better you life, use it consistently, and push yourself.
When all was done, I found new strength in myself that I didn't know I had. I saw changes in my body. In my health. In my MENTAL state. My breathing started to change. My resting state became more restful. Muscles grew. Planks and push ups that I shook and fell through at the start are now something I look forward to and can do with ease. Funny though, normal poses I was used to almost became harder for me as my body changed and I worked the poses different, better.
The day that I crossed 30 days of yoga off my list, I felt incredible. Like a superhero. Like Wonder Woman. I have no plans of stopping now either. I'm curious how long I can go, how hard and far I can push myself, and I am excited to add new poses and yoga routines to my roster as well. I also want to add new challenges to my 30 day list. Water and healthy eating will be next.
On a side note, which I think I should have said at the start, it actually took me 3 tries to get through 30 days of yoga before I actually did stick with it consecutively. But I kept pushing myself and didn't give up. I didn't get discouraged and I found a way to make it work, I always do. I am so happy and proud of myself.
My challenge to you, dear friends, should you chose to accept it, is to pick some form of your own healthy habit or challenge and do it every single day for the next 30 days. If you slip up, start over and keep going. Keep track of your progress and the most important thing? Reward yourself when you are done. You deserve it.
I am currently brainstorming new rewards for myself for my next challenges.
I don't care what you decide to do, I'm not judging you, and you don't even need to share with me what you chose, although I would be honored if you would. I want to cheer you on!
Maybe all you can manage to commit to right now is 2 minutes of deep breathing every day. Maybe it's 10 minutes of meditation. Maybe it's to give back. Drink water. Stretch.
Whatever it is, stick with it and see how you feel after, see how it changes you, see if you aren't filled with so much motivation to do so much more.
It is amazing what 30 day of consistency did for me.
I am so proud of myself.
I can't wait to see what it does for you as well.
Thank you for reading my dear friends.
As always,
All my love,
Author Carissa McIntyre
Lady Mack xo
#yoga #yogi #healthyliving #mentalhealth #happy #flexible #selfcare