Reflections on 30 Days of Yoga

First of all, let's get the elephant out of the room. Yes, I'm a Christian (or a follower of Christ, as I prefer to call myself) and I do yoga. I don't see any problem with it. God made our bodies in all of their intricacies and connections (Ps 139), and I believe that He wants us to use them for His honor and glory. With that being said, I don't do yoga as a religious practice, which for me, means avoiding yoga where Buddha is a central figure, or where I'm encouraged to recite Buddhist mantras. I use yoga to calm my mind and spirit, move my body, and find stillness, something that God commands in the Bible (Ps 46:10).

I only dabbled in yoga (via my roommate's Biggest Loser yoga DVD and one bikram class) before returning to Arizona. When I started my new job, I got really excited when I saw that one of the teachers offered a weekly class after school. I started going and found that the practice helped sooth sore muscles (especially after running) and calm me down after a week's worth of work. (Classes occur on Thursdays.) Life got a little hectic, though, and I missed a few classes. At that point, I discovered Do Yoga With Me and started supplementing my live practice with yoga videos. I really relished having one spot of rest and repose during the week.

So what got me started on 30 Days of Yoga? Well, I've read a lot of blog posts about how yoga helps reconnect mind and body. I've heard that it's gentler on the body, but also still a good workout. I was getting tired of my normal workout routine and wanted something new. When Do Yoga With Me posted the 30 Day challenge, I decided to try it.

I'm a perfectionist, so I like keeping my commitments, but I have to admit, keeping this one was hard. At first, it was hard for me to give up my regular workouts in lieu of yoga. I wanted to do both! I work nine hour days plus commuting an hour, so I don't exactly have the time to do that. I don't have a ton of extra energy, either. So I decided to give yoga a shot as my primary exercise for 30 days. In that month, I learned and recognized the following:

1) I realized that yoga is a practice, which means it takes practice. I wasn't good at it when I started, and though I'd say I'm better now, I'm still can't do all the poses or make it through a long class without taking a rest. But that's not the point. The point is practice: coming back to the mat again and again regardless of last class's results.

2) My flexibility did improve. By the end of 30 days, I found myself going deeper into my forward folds and down dogs. That didn't happen immediately, but more flexibility came with time.

3) Speaking of time, practicing yoga made me more aware of and appreciative of time. The challenge warned me of the time needed to practice a day ahead, and then I had to clear my schedule. Sometimes, I had to get up early. Sometimes I needed to give up evening habits. I had to choose yoga.

Some people practice yoga without a clock, which I did. I used the time bar on the yoga videos to pace my practice, however. It helped me to know when I was only a quarter of the way through the practice, or when I was close to savasana. It forced me to embrace my time on the mat instead of wishing it away. I've carried some of that awareness with me even after ending the challenge.

4) Yoga helped my posture. I'm tall and have a bad habit of slouching when I sit. After only a week of yoga, I noticed that I kept my shoulders back and sat up straighter more often. All those resets in mountain pose started to transfer to real life.

5) I realize the value of space in my mornings. It really helps the day go better. Since ending daily yoga, I've started getting up 15 minutes earlier, just to give myself that extra time to start the day off right.

6) Yoga isn't about necessarily about time spent, but about the intention of doing it. I'm a diehard rule-follower, and my rule for myself is that I need to work out 30 minutes a day. Well some of the yoga classes were 13 minutes, and some were 73. I had to accept this and learn to relish whatever time I got. Doing this helped me be more flexible in my mind.

7) The results of my personal yoga practice correlate with the information I read. Practicing yoga every day did reconnect my mind and body. I was able to say, "No," to continued roller skating with friends because I felt pain, rather than pushing through like I normally do. My mind tells me to stretch more when my body feels uncomfortable (like it did after standing too long in one place at work today). I want to spend more time in quiet exercise, rather than the frenetic HIIT that I tend towards. Perhaps I can learn to blend the two in order to appreciate each more.

So was my challenge successful? Yes, it more ways than one.

What do I plan to do now? For starters, I plan to recommit to practicing yoga at least once a week through the class at work. (Yoga every day isn't sustainable.) I hope to incorporate more stretching into my life and keep getting up early (which means I need to go to bed earlier.) I want to keep appreciating the body God gave me, honoring it (1 Cor 6:19) more instead of ignoring it as I tend to do. These are lofty goals, but if I could commit to 30 straight days of yoga, surely I can give my new goals my best efforts.

Pursuing Rest via Yoga

I started a more intensive yoga practice last fall while working at a school that offered after-school vinyasa classes for staff. Our teacher was a wonderful woman that knew just how far to push and challenge us. I'd come out of each hour class feeling sweaty, tired, and at peace. I thought that was how yoga was supposed to.

I couldn't go to yoga classes in January, so I committed to Do Yoga With Me's 30 Day Yoga Challenge. I realized that not all yoga classes were an hour in length, and I had to accept the fact that sometimes yoga didn't stretch me and energize me like the vinyasa classes. Sometimes it just rested me.

Fast forward to March and another yoga challenge that involved way too much lying on the ground and philosophizing, and I was pretty set in my yoga ways. I wanted the classes to be long and tired.

But then life got in the way of yoga, our yoga teacher left, and I didn't find time to fit in my weekly hour of yoga. I put yoga off or just did it occasionally. I toyed around with a new video yoga instructor, Lesley Fightmaster, and did a few short classes. But I wasn't committed.

After reading HummusSapien's Love Letter to Anxiety last week, however, I think I'm ready to recommit to a more regular yoga practice. Though building strength to survive those hour yoga classes is cool, what I really need from yoga are the components of muscle stretching and brain rest. Lesley Fightmaster's classes have just enough chatarungas to keep me moving and she always ends with an inspiring quote, so for now, I think I'll still with her classes. So long, hard, sweaty vinyasa. Hello, rest, because right now, that's what I need more of to moderate my life. 

*And if you're like me, living a busy lifestyle but in need of  the rest of yoga, I recommend Lesley's Fightmaster's "10 Minute 'Emergency' Yoga Sequence." As said in the video, some yoga is better than no yoga.*

Yoga Revolution (Yoga with Adriene) Review

I wrote earlier about my experience with 30 Days of Yoga. I enjoyed that journey, the mental discipline, the time-management, the body practice. And now I've completed another journey: The 31 Day Yoga Revolution with Adriene Mischler. I learned about Yoga with Adriene from a friend who posted lovely photos of her yoga journey on Instagram. After a month off daily yoga practice (goodbye February), I wanted to get back into it. So I signed up.

Let's just say I wasn't a fan. Adriene's yoga is slower and more meditative. Hatha style, not vinyasa. Strength, not stamina focused. Adriene talks a lot. About things other than yoga. She's silly, and sometimes inappropriate, borderline crude. She's way into self-love. And maybe to an unhealthy extent. I found myself unhappy, frustrated after sessions. I started adding ten minutes of Fitness Blender before the yoga. (These videos are shorter than many of Do Yoga With Me's challenges.) That helped a little. But I still found myself angsty.

I completed the final day of the challenge last Friday, and I was grateful. I have to admit that video surprised me a little, though. Adriene didn't talk and just practiced. I had to really watch to follow. I had to focus. This practice contained more flows. More chatarunga. I liked the music in the background. At the end, I finally got into crow (only for a few seconds, but it still counts). I left feeling strong and proud and happy. I think that's what Adriene wanted for her yogis.

So did I enjoy the 31 Day Yoga Revolution? No, not really. Will I continue with another of Adriene's challenges? (Hello, 30 Days of Yoga or Yoga Camp.) Probably not. Yoga with Adriene is not my style. But I still learned from this experience. I practiced discipline. I processed frustration. I got stronger. I let myself feel.

It's okay to dislike. It's okay for something to not be my thing. But what's important is working through the struggle and discomfort, accepting them, accepting myself in the process. That's the revolution.

A Review of Yoga Fix 30

Another January, another 30 day yoga challenge completed. This seems to be a theme for me. But hey, the New Year is a great time for a reset, and when there are challenges to do, why not?

This year, I completed the Yoga Fix 30 with Lesley Fightmaster. This was a series of roughly 20 minute videos targeting all areas of the body, usually with a meditation on Sunday. Here's what I liked, what I learned, and what I didn't like.

I liked...

• The brevity of the videos: I didn't need to get up early or carve out a huge chunk of time for yoga. I could add the videos onto a shorter workout, or do them after work.
• The duration of the videos: Thirty days is long enough to feel like I worked hard, but not so long that I regretted my commitment. I was ready for a few days break when the series finished.
• The accessibility of the videos: I used to like hard yoga, but after a bout with the flu (or whatever it was), these were challenging enough, without stressing my body.
• The imperfections: Fightmaster leaves the mistakes in her video, which makes me feel a whole lot better when I fall out of a pose. "Fall out. Get right back in," she says. That's a good motto for life.
• The mantra at the end: "Hands to the forehead, reminding us to have clear and loving thoughts. Hands to the heart, reminding us to have clear and loving intentions. Hands to the mouth, reminding us to have clear and loving communications." This is biblical if I do say so myself.

I learned...

• How to do an up dog: I could never figure out how cobra and up dog were different, but I finally got it. Thighs on the floor for cobra. Thighs off the floor for up dog. And in real up dog, I'm closer to the cool feet-flip that gets people back into down dog.
• Long workouts aren't for me: I did add my daily video on at the end of weights or jogging a few days, and I was tired. About 30 minutes is good for me. Much more, and I just don't do a good job.
• To take modifications: I am a perfectionist and want to do things 100%. But with the flu and my overall tiredness, I rested more in these yoga videos. And it was okay. I still got through.
• Yoga, as with any habit, is about priorities: There isn't time for everything, so I had to choose to do yoga over other workouts or activities. Nothing lost, but something gained. Life is about choices.
• You really should wait two hours after eating to practice: I left my video until after dinner one night, and though I waited as long as I could after eating (an hour or more), I didn't feel well afterwards. Lesson learned.

I didn't like...

• Sunday meditations: I would have preferred a shorter, gentler yoga class in lieu of the meditations. But it's okay, because I used that time to try to practice my own flows.
• The ads: It's a peril of YouTube, but I didn't enjoy clicking past the ads at the beginning of each video. I almost always felt rushed going into them, and the ads took a few more seconds of my time.
• The pacing: A few of the videos moved too fast for me, at least in my current state. I didn't like feeling like I couldn't keep up.
• My malaise: I don't think it was the videos' fault, but I felt more disconnected this time through yoga. I didn't feel as relaxed or calm. Maybe that's because I've been sick. Maybe it's because I'm stressed. I don't know, but whatever the cause, the videos felt more like a chore this time.
• The lack of Christian connection: I believe that Christians can practice yoga as an integration of body, mind, and spirit (because that's the way God made us). Fightmaster doesn't tout herself as a Christian yoga practitioner, so I can't fault her secular comments and connections, but some day, I would like to find a Christian yoga video producer.

That's all for this yoga wrap-up. Thoughts, comments, or questions? Please share in the comments section.

Move: 30 Day Yoga with Adriene Challenge Review

Yep! Finished another 30 day January yoga challenge from Yoga with Adriene. Quite frankly, I had forgotten about the yearly challenge and did not plan to do it. I subscribe to the weekly Yoga with Adriene e-mails, though, and learned about Move that way. I am currently training for a 10K and did not think I would have time to do both that and this, but then I started. Once I started, I wanted to finish. So I made it work. How? Read on for more.

Scheduling

The first work day, I woke up early and squeezed in the challenge before work. Most of the rest of the weekdays, I did it after dinner and before bed. Yes, I know yoga after eating, particularly inversions, is best at least two hours after eating, but this small chunk of time was what I had. On weekends, I preferred to do the yoga mid-afternoon, as it was a good way to invite both energy and calm into the later part of the day. Enough about timing, other than to say that my husband supported my yoga journey which was important, because completing it took a chunk out of my day.

Pacing

This challenge seemed a little more intermediate than I remember some of the years. There was quite a lot of chatarangas, moderate core work, and the opportunity for advanced poses like crow. Let's just say there was some actual exercise involved, but that's okay. In past years, and other challenges, there have sometimes been entire sessions dedicated to meditation, and that really is not for me, at least not for me in a yoga challenge.

How It Worked

Yoga is meant to be a mindful practice. I will be very honest and say that I did most of my practices distracted. Sometimes I read on my phone. Sometimes I started and stopped. Only a few times did I really sink in and engage. I found the latter easier as the challenge went on, though. I wanted the time to be mindful, and that says a lot about movement through this program.

How it Ended

The last session of the Yoga with Adriene challenges is always a free practice. In the past, I have either 

1) Turned it off and chosen to do another guided practice

2) Obsessively followed Adriene and hurt my neck from staring at the computer screen

This time, I found myself actually practicing. It was effortless and I was in the flow, until I caught myself, and then I felt self conscious and struggled. I finished practicing, though, and I only watched Adriene for a little bit. Maybe after all these years, the Lord is helping me be myself and actually live intuitively, rather than comparing or externalizing. I am at least moving in that direction.

Take-Aways

Adriene always sends daily e-mails during her 30 day challenges. Some provide session notes. Some provide guidance about how to think. Some provide insights that wow. Some of these included for me:

Day 13: If you want to fly, you can’t be afraid to fall.

Day 15: "What do you want to move closer to?"

Day 19; “The process is the candy.”

--

I thought at one point during this challenge: I don't love this. I want to give it up. Then I was glad I finished. I don't have time, or maybe rather, I don't want to make time, to do 30 minutes of yoga a day every day. I honestly experienced quite a wave of relief the day after the challenge when I realized I did not need to find (aka clear) 20-30 minutes of time. Yoga, for me, isn't all the time.

I always question if I will do another yoga challenge. I don't know. January 2023 is still almost a year away. I will see how I move through this year and go from there, because Lord willing, I will keep moving and learning and growing, as the challenge showed me I have over the past few years.

Center: 30 Day Yoga with Adriene Challenge Review

I am not sure I actually enjoyed this challenge. It wasn't the challenge, necessarily. It was me. I had a lot on my plate this spring with training for races. I already knew I had limited time during the week due to my work schedule. And I chose to do the challenge anyway.

What Is This Challenge Anyway?

The Yoga with Adriene Challenge is a yearly challenge to do yoga everyday in January. Adriene Mischler, a yoga personality, actress, and entrepreneur, curates and films a collection of practices and then posts them free on YouTube. People who subscribe to her newsletter can get a daily note about the practice, and then do it. The idea is to make yoga more accessible, and incorporate yoga more into daily life. Each year's collection has a theme to unify it. The theme this year was, "Center."

What I Liked About the Challenge

The practices in this journey were a little shorter than in some of her journeys. (Most were 30 minutes or less). Adriene wrote about her intentionality with this in one of her newsletters. She wanted to make the practices easier to integrate into everyday life. I liked that Mischler also included some fitness elements in these practices, like building of core strength, some Pilates-like moves, and even a few push-ups. Some of the quotes in her newsletters were quite moving. I think that is part of what keeps people coming back to Yoga with Adriene. She has a sassy, sweet personality that makes it fun and inspiring to practice with her.

What I Didn't Like About This Challenge

The daily practices were just too long for me. I prefer around 10 minutes maximum. Many days, I did about ten minutes of the practice in the morning, and then I did the other minutes of the video in the evening. I sometimes benefitted from the evening practice, and sometimes really disliked the fact that it extended my to-do list for the evening (but I was bound and determined to finish once I started). Mischler did make a few inappropriate, or borderline-inappropriate jokes (though less than in other journeys) which I could have done without. Nothing striking made me dislike the challenge.

What I Learned

I think I learned through this that I like yoga, but that every day is too much, at least with my life as it is now. Maybe one or two practices a week benefit me, but other than that, running and my other exercise is enough. On the flip side, this journey showed me that I struggle with stillness (I often looked at my phone to read or did my own stretches and foam rolling during slow times), so maybe I actually need more yoga. I guess my takeaway is that I need to center my practices around what matters to me. Right now, that is not yoga every day. Will it be some day in the future? I don't know. Will I do another yoga journey? I don't know. I think I need to consider my priorities and what really matters to me if and when that time comes. (Next year, Mischler?)

Breath: Another 30 Day Journey with Yoga with Adriene

Let's cut to the quick. I did not do this challenge as I should have. Yoga is best done in a studio, with the co-regulation and instruction of a teacher. At home, it is best done with quiet, focus, and solitude. I did none of this. I did the challenge online via video. I often did other things during the video (e.g. reading on my phone). I sometimes got interrupted and had to half and half a practice. But it was still good for me.

Adriene Mischler of Yoga with Adriene posts a 30 day challenge almost every year. I have done them for several years now. Each year, it's a squeeze to fit in the practices for 30 days. Each year, I consider quitting, but my stubbornness keeps me going. In the end, I am glad when I finish.

To be honest, I'm not in the best yoga shape, but I'm not an absolute beginner, either. I get annoyed at the very basic nature of the beginning practices. They seem too slow and too easy, but I think that is part of Mischler's intent. We all need to start with a beginner's mind. We need to reset, not think we know it all, and begin anew. Good practice for yoga, and for life.

Mischler's style is part restorative hatha, part energetic vinyasa, part Pilates with some plain old stretching thrown in. Really, there is something for everyone. Mischler's dramatic flair and quirky humor add to the practice. (If you investigate her videos, beware, that sometimes her humor can be a bit mature.)

I combined the challenge this year with my run training. This contributed to the tight scheduling and multi-tasking, but it worked. I looked forward to the slowness of the practice after a potentially harder run. Making these challenge a success, for me, means using them as meditation, not exercise. For me, they don't do the job of exercise, even though yoga is an exercise.

The theme of this challenge was breath, focusing on the breath to rest. Focusing on the breath to guide through. Focusing on the breath to stay in the moment. I didn't do great with breath. I didn't even practice all of the breaths. But I said the challenge was good for me. Why? It gave me a breath of fresh air. It forced me to focus at least a little bit. I practiced prioritizing. I remembered, even if only for a brief few moments, what it felt like to rest.

Will I continue with daily yoga, as recommended by Mischler? No, probably not. Will I keep doing yoga. Yes, probably so. Will I do next year's challenge? Yes, if I can. It's a good way to reset at the beginning of the year, and if nothing else, motivation to keep my practice going.

Hello, February, goodbye, Breath. But really not goodbye. Hello to keeping the practice going, at least subconsciously, to giving myself a little rest and space, even if not indicated by the clock or the yoga calendar. We all live on air, so yoga or not, breath is important.

Your Mat is a Reflection: Reflections on Yoga with Adriene's Home

Yes, I did it again. I took another journey of 30 straight days of yoga (by God's grace, and thanks to the plethora of free video series online). This is my third 30 days of yoga, having completed two in 2017, and one in 2018. You might remember that I did a Yoga with Adriene series in 2017, and didn't like it. But guess what? I did another one. And I liked it. I'm in a different place. Maybe she's in a different place. This year it worked.

What made this yoga challenge work?

1) The calendar. Knowing what time to expect to spend on my mat each day was exceedingly helpful, for scheduling and for life.

2) The daily e-mails. Signing up early meant I got an e-mail each day telling me more about the day's practice and how to embrace it. This helped keep me motivated and accountable.

3) Not using the challenge as my primary source of exercise. Last time I did the Yoga with Adriene challenge, I did it as my main workout. Since switching to running more, I have used yoga as a cool-down and stretching component. It is more satisfying this way.

What did the challenge teach me?

1) That my life is more harried and hurried than I think it is. Adriene said one day, "Your mat is a reflection." (Some teachers say, "Your mat is a mirror.") I noticed that I almost always multi-tasked while practicing. I'd be scrambling to read or reply to an e-mail as I loaded the day's video. I'd be on my phone reading my devotional or looking something up during the seated start to the practice. I'd be checking the slider bar to see how much time I had left as I went through the moves. I struggled to be still.

2) I get out what I put in. I admittedly didn't get the most out of the practice because of the habits above. I wanted to rest and relax, but I didn't. I got the stretch and cool-down out of the practice, but less of the meditation and stress relief (which I also needed).

3) I know more than I think I do (but don't trust myself). I always hate the last practice of Adriene's challenges, because she likes to turn off the microphone and have viewers practice themselves. In the past, I didn't know what to do. This time, I felt I could do my own practice, but I nevertheless found myself glued to the screen, straining my neck to make sure I could copy Adriene. Why? I didn't trust myself. Though I'd done most of the challenge by the sound of Adriene's voice and not the video, I didn't think I could do it right by myself. I didn't trust my body to tell me what it needed. I also feared missing out. I feared I'd miss the workout if I didn't follow her. Sigh. I have a lot of growing to do.

So would I do a Yoga with Adriene challenge again? 

Yes. Actually I would. And I even found myself wanting to practice yoga after the (self) obligatory days of the challenge. Maybe I didn't get the full benefits of this practice, but I got something, and I am both thankful for that, and eager to learn more.

So You Want to Do a Yoga Challenge...

Maybe you're into yoga. Maybe you're not. Maybe you've wanted to do a yoga challenge like I referenced towards the beginning of this month. Maybe you don't. If you're in the maybe not category, feel free to skip over this post. If you're in the "maybe" category and want advice about how to successfully complete your first (or next) yoga challenge, here are some tips:

1) Download the calendar and print it out. Seriously, do it. I'm not for making more paper waste, but in this case, having the calendar really helps, for several reasons. First, it gives you the run times so you know how to plan for the day ahead. In the last Yoga with Adriene challenge, practices ranged from 15 to 60 minutes. That was a big difference in time! Additionally, a printed calendar lets you check off each day, giving you a tangible sense of accomplishment when you do it.

2) Clear a space. In addition to clearing time, you will want to clear physical space. You don't need a large space, but need space equivalent to the area of a yoga mat. Beware of nearby furniture, and push it to the side if you can. Kicking a piece of hard furniture really hurts.

3) Get padding. Buy a yoga mat or use a thickly carpeted room. I personally don't use a mat, but we have good carpet padding. I would need a mat elsewhere.

4) Find something comfy. Wear a fitted shirt, or tuck in your shirt (so that it doesn't fall in your face; tie back your hair for the same reason, if needed.) Wear pants that allow for movement. (No, jeans generally won't work.)

5) Get grippy. Either wear socks with grip or go barefoot. Sliding around is no fun.

Will following all of these tips make you successful at 30 days of yoga? No, you make yourself successful. I hope these hints just might be helpful along the way. 

--

Let me know what hints were most helpful by commenting below.

Yoga with Adriene Return Series (Review)

As with all things, there are times and seasons. Adriene Mischler used to release a 30 day yoga challenge every January. She did that for eight years! Then in 2025, she released just a seven day program, and now in 2026, she's moved to a once a week, four week (with a final live stream practice). I admire her commitment to continuing to release new content, but at a pace that seems more sustainable.

Mischler has been somewhat open about her struggles with burnout, first in 2021 (Barrie), and then again in 2025 (Lucci). Perhaps these new, shorter practice styles reveal her commitment to "less is more," and/or reflect some of her own practices. Regardless, in this season of my life, I enjoy being able to keep up with something that I enjoy, but at a slower, and more accessible pace.

Like with most of Mischler's videos, the new "Return" practice videos (2026) are about 30 minutes each. The third video is closer to twenty minutes, and focused on core, as was her usual practice in day 6 of her 30 day programs. (This was actually the only practice of which I tuned into the whole thing.) The live practice (which I participated in later) was much longer, at over an hour. While I think I would have liked less, I think it was also good for me to slow down and try to practice for longer just once.

Overall, the practices follow Mischler's usual structure, though maybe with a little more slowness and stillness, and a little less humor. One thing I have always appreciated about Yoga with Adriene videos is that they are light on actual yogic philosophy, and that holds true here. These practices are more about movement and breath and less about philosophy. That works for me.

While I have done the 30 day yoga practices in the past, I now try to fit in yoga just once a week. Even if only for 5-10 minutes, it counts! Yoga is a good reminder to stretch, slow down, and tune in. These practices, albeit a bit longer than I have been doing, provided me an opportunity to return to these benefits of yoga, and for that, I am grateful. For anyone who wants to return to a practice of yoga, this new series of videos provides an accessible door, and I recommend them!

References:

Barrie, T. (2021, November 22). Adriene Mishler: ‘In 2021 I was like, “I have to pause. I have to practise what I preach."' GQ. https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fitness/article/adriene-mishler-interview

Lucci, A. (2025, January 1). Burnout nearly broke Adriene Mishler. Here's how she came back stronger than ever. Women's Health Mag. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a63207450/adriene-mishler-essay/

Mischler, A. (2026). Return - A 4 Part Journey - 2026! [Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyWhA68BUms&list=PLui6Eyny-Uzynj9tgds7Qb4EjYYmIx0Ci

Yoga with Adriene: Flow (Review)

Another year, and yes, I did complete the Yoga with Adriene challenge again this year. I will share about the challenge and then how I did it, and what my experience was like.

Session lengths: 9-27 minutes

Style of practice: Slow flow vinyasa, with some core work; overall, I found this a simpler, easier, gentler practice than in years past

How to access: Via the Yoga with Adriene YouTube channel or via her website

What I did: Not the challenge exactly-rather, I used the daily yoga time to stretch, foam roll, and then participate in whatever part of the yoga flow was left. I felt that I needed to continue my stretching and foam rolling and without time to do that and 20 plus minutes of yoga, I combined the two. I found that most practices started slow enough that I did not miss too much.

My experience: As usual, I found Adriene to be a calm and fun guide. I think she had a little more flow, and less sarcasm this time, which was a balm for my weary soul. As always, she gives great cues and plenty of grace.

I appreciated these practices because it did feel like they were more about flow: smooth moves and transitions, rather than just poses and performance. The practices encouraged a lot of yogi squats and other mobility moves, which my tired body appreciated and enjoyed.

I found the e-mails less helpful and insightful than in the past. This might be me more about me than the actual content, though. Day 25, "Action," however, held this nugget, and I think it sums up a lot of the journey: "Remember this practice is about meeting you where you are at each day. No acting or performance skills required. "

I did manage to carve out time for a fairly undistracted Day 30 (the day participants plan their own flow). I did do a lot of flowing to find what felt good. After a long day, that looked like a lot of cat/cow, full body stretches, several periods of savasana, and of course a little crow practice, the one challenge that Adriene includes in most all of her journeys, and which I can now do, at least for a few seconds.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed this journey. All in all, it was good just to have time and space carved out for me, to stretch or foam roll and/or scroll my phone. A few nights, the yoga really came in clutch and helped calm my nervous system. While I am relieved to not have a practice I feel like I "have to" complete every night, I will probably continue to practice shortly, as it is helpful and good for me, for time, space, flow, and all the other reasons....

A More Accessible Yoga Challenge

Yes, I did another 30 day yoga challenge. I kind of stumbled into this one, finding it when looking for a weekly practice. The challenge was the Flexible Body, Flexible Mind yoga challenge from Yoga with Kassandra. The challenge features around 10 minutes of yoga, along with an optional activity to stretch the mind. I never did the optional activities, but I looked at most of them, and some seemed like they could be beneficial.

What I Liked About This Challenge

The practices were short. Meant to be done in the morning to wake-up, I did them in the evening to wind down. The general slow flow and stretching felt good. The cues were not exactly minimal, but Kassandra did not talk too much, meaning I could just be still and focus on relaxing.

What I Did Not Like About This Challenge

I like yoga as an athletic practice, as a calming and soothing practice, but not as a meditative or religious practice. Kassandra ended every practice in this challenge with a chant of, "om," which comes from Hindi sacred texts, and is definitely religious (Allard, 2020). I got pretty good at noticing when the, "om" was coming, and just turned off the video before then. That might not work for everyone, but it worked for me.

Conclusion

I liked this challenge. The shorter length practices and focus on stretching worked for me. The slower flow reminds me of the benefits of yoga and stretching, especially at the end of the day. While I think adding on 10-15 minutes of practice at the end of the day did result in some later bedtimes, maybe the benefits were worth it?

Reference:

Allard, S. (2020, July 16). 5 things to know about om. Hindu American Foundation. https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/5-things-to-know-about-om

Re-Examining Rest

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

~Matthew 11:28-29

The new year is here, but with in the end of my two week, one and one-half break from work. I'd like to say that I've rested during this time, and I have, but not the extent that I'd like. As I've looked back over my habits this past year, I've realized that I constantly rush through life. I lose out on the ability to enjoy even simple things like clipping coupons because I hurry through the activity just to get to the next one. I'm trying to slow down, to really enjoy and savor life, but it's hard. I wish I could say that I'm excited to go back to work, but I'm not. I'm dreading it, fearful. I've tried to start some new habits, like writing on daily journal prompts and practicing yoga, but I worry that I won't be able to keep up these routines while working. I worry that the frenzy will overtake any life and spirit I have found during this time. I want to find who I really am this year instead of running through life, tripping over obstacles, ignoring the scenery, and generally acting like a robot, but it seems impossible.

I've realized recently that rest is a choice. There is never really enough “time” for it, and certainly never a “good” time. This past semester, I've gone to a yoga class once a week after school, but this month, I decided to embark on a 30 day yoga video challenge. The videos vary in length, which means I have to plan ahead to fit them in, be intentional. Often times, I approach yoga in a rush, as one more to-do item to cross off my list. But then I have to hold a pose and breathe and wait. By the end of the practice, I've normally calmed down and my body feels better, but that feeling doesn't stay. When the next day comes, I don't really want to make time for what I know is good for me.

This is kind of like rest. I want rest and the benefits it gives, but not the time and commitment it takes. I want to read my Bible slowly and enjoy it, but instead I approach it like an adrenaline shot—get it in fast and get it done. I want to make friends and enjoy my family, but when I'm with these people, I often find my mind on the next task, the next thing to get down when I arrive home. Part of the issue is that I don't remain present. I don't remain here in the moment or enjoy God's blessings in it.

In Matthew, Jesus commands his followers to come to him with their burdens and find rest in him. I think my burden is the harried lifestyle I live, the loss of myself and my personality to the to-do list. I want to know God's rest, to experience His peace, but I've incorporated the rush into my personality. I've used it to evaluate and valuate my life. If I give up the rush, I have to re-found my life on Christ and re-establish my identity in Him. That sounds painful, excruciatingly so. But that's the way to go, I guess. I can't have rest if I have rush.

LESS Goals

I set way too many goals for March:

Declutter at least one item a day.

Read a daily entry from a devotional book (on top of my usual Bible reading).

Research every day for our trip.

Do yoga every day.

The last one was actually good for my mental health. The rest got a little bit onerous. In and of themselves, they were not bad goals, but together, they all added up to equal more stress. I found myself rushing around a lot of nights after work trying to check off my list of daily goals, so this month, I set less, and I made goals for the month, not the day:

1) Swim two laps at least one a week.

2) Increase my healthy fat intake at least a certain amount (on the way to the goal my running nutritionist set for me).

3) Declutter and donate the big brown box by the end of the month.

I also quit some things:

I quit trying to read and listen to my daily Bible passages. Maybe that is a bad thing, but I did not believe I was getting much more out of listening to the passages than reading them, and trying to get the audio recordings finished each morning delayed my readings of the next passages, so I quit. I did keep up reading my devotional book. I appreciated it for bite-sized theological nuggets. My husband and I also read a daily devotional together in the morning. Maybe it's not "enough," but it's something.

I quit researching for our trip. At this point, I have found more things to do that we will have time to do, and it really is not my trip anyway. It is my husband's.

I quit tracking wind speed and direction in my running log. The Apple fitness app doesn't give it to me, which means I needed to open up the weather app each day to find it. Wind is an interesting stat, but not one I really look at that much. In fact, now that I think of it, I don't often look back at the weather information either. I mostly look back at my paces. Maybe I want to scrap weather tracking all together. That is food for thought for the future.

I told myself I could quit decluttering, but I still had that big, brown box. To be honest, decluttering also felt like either a conviction or a compulsion, maybe both. While I kept doing it, I had to look harder and harder for things to discard or donate. On the flip side, I found myself wanting to buy new and shiny things. Not the point, Sarah!

I kept up with the yoga, but after completing the Amanda Elle (n.d.). playlist through which I was working, I had to look harder for the shorter types of practice I like to do after work. That means yoga, too, started to become work. Good things take time and effort, but I really need to decide which ones are worth my time, and which ones aren't. Isn't that part of the purpose of LESS? To have more time for what matters?

So here I sit at the end of another month. We did donate that box, so we have that many less things in my house. I dropped some goals. I dropped some habits. What's left? What of what's left still matters? That is what I'm still on a quest to find out (with lots of prayers and questioning and discussions with my husband)!

Reference:

Elle, A. (n.d.). 5 minute yoga [Playlist]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSleEMpW_U&list=PL9EBPDA6SCdYgxjSGj_50ls7utbpQrDUL

Yoga with Adriene Prana Review

There was no 30 day Yoga with Adriene challenge this year. (I guess I missed that last year's was the last.) Instead, she offered a short, seven day journey called Prana. In my opinion, that was just about right. 

The practices this year were all under 30 minutes in link, a little more approachable, if you ask me. The level was more intermediate than beginner, but still very accessible. All in all, I felt like this series was less about flow and more about just tuning into the body and moving.

Full disclosure, I did these yoga practices distracted. That's just me right now, with too many tabs open on my computer, on my phone, and in my brain. Still, this series gave me an excuse to quiet down just a little more, to make time for myself, or as Adriene says in Day 5, take "a quiet moment of being."

Was this practice. worth it? One-hundred percent! I may have had complaints about yoga journeys in the past, but this one was just right for me: a chance to catch a breath, which perhaps is just what Adriene intended given that the series name "Prana" means breath.

All the New Year's Challenges

New year, and all the new year's challenges. Some are designed to get people "in shape." Others are designed to help people make and keep resolutions. Challenges aren't for everyone, and it kind of annoys me that so many fall at the beginning of the year. Still, I am a sucker for them, all of them. I like challenges, because they are well, a challenge. They also add adventure and variety to my life. I might have taken on a few too many this January, though.

It started with the Yoga with Adriene challenge, a 30 day challenge I knew was coming, because I have done it every year since 2017. (Well, I guess I skipped 2019.) I thought about not doing it, but then I decided to go for it, along with the race training I was already doing. Then I added Strong in 20 from Nourish Move Love for my strength training challenge. And then I saw the Good Mood Challenge from Blogilates and thought, why not? Yeah, it was a lot. Twenty minutes of yoga daily, plus 20-30 minutes of strength training (just for two weeks, though), plus whatever was on the day from the Good Mood Challenge. I quickly realized that all of it was not going to happen, at least as written. I considered giving up, but that didn't settle, so I modified.

I did the Yoga with Adriene challenge, but sometimes I stretched during the breathing portions (not the best, but I needed the stretching if I ran). I split up the practices as I needed to. And sometimes I did other things like reading or DuoLingo while holding long poses (not ideal or recommended, but it's what I did). I did manage to make it through Strong in 20, but again, sometimes I subbed other stretches while they stretched, and/or stretched during rest periods. Sometimes I went easier on the weights since I was also doing other training. In turn, I also cut out some of my running workout (eg speed) days because I was tired. And the Good Mood Challenge? I realized it would be really stressful to do every challenge on the day (like trying to make a smoothie while traveling), so I switched it up. The goal was to promote better holistic health, right? Stressing about how to make a smoothie on the go seemed to negate the goal of a good mood?

Am I glad I did all the New Year's Challenges? In the end, yes. They forced me to be flexible. They forced me to decide what I really wanted. Should I do so many challenges again in the future? Probably not. For this year, though, all these challenges stretched me. I learned. I grew. Wasn't that the point? 

Top Ten of 2017

I've seen several 2017 wrap-ups, so I decided to do my own top ten based on the posts I wrote this year that got the most hits. Surprisingly, these posts do a pretty good job of summarizing my year:

Yoga Revolution (Yoga with Adriene) Review 
Nope! Not Married! 
This Isn't the Life I Planned, But It's the Life I've Been Given 
Reflections on 30 Days of Yoga 
"This is All Good News" 
Pride 
Pat's Run Weekend 
Suicide 
Growing 
13 Reasons Why 

If you follow me on Instagram, here's my Best Nine:

1. Nighttime snack-April 12, 2017
2. Afghan 50-May 26, 2017
3. Afghan 52-July 13, 2017
4. Janis Best 5K-October 28, 2017
5. Patriot Run medal-October 18, 2017
6. All dressed up for my cousin's wedding in Wichita, Kansas-June 17, 2017
7. Supporting adoption shirt-November 5, 2017
8. Chocolate tumeric oats and peanut butter-July 14, 2017
9. One year Arizona anniversary celebrated-July 4, 2017

Which post did you enjoy most? Please share in the comments section so I know more of what you'd like to see in 2018.

To God be the glory!

Anatomy of a 5K PR (and a Thankful Thanksgiving Week Race)

No turkey trot for me this year. Instead, it was a Sunday 5K to support foster and adoptive families, a cause near and dear to my heart. Here's what my morning looked like:

5:05 AM Wake up.
5:15 AM Get up and get out of bed.
5:20 AM Mosey to the kitchen and put away dishes.
5:30-5:50 AM Ice my sore foot.
5:50-6:20 AM Complete miscellaneous tasks and read my Bible.
6:20-6:25 AM Plank for two minutes (part of Darebee's multiplank challenge).
6:25-6:40 AM Practice yoga to calm my nerves and stretch out my foot. (This "10 Minute Yoga for Feet" from Yoga with Joelle was a good fit.) 
6:40-6:50 AM Complete more miscellaneous tasks. (I don't remember what I did.)
6:50-7:00 AM Go up and down the stairs five times.
7:00-7:15 AM Eat a banana and sip on water with Mortal. Gather belongings.
7:15-7:40 AM Travel to the race.
7:40-8:00 AM Run two warm up miles at 9:37/mile
8:00-8:20 AM Take a bathroom break. Walk to the start line. Take team photos.
8:20 AM Consume 1 caffeinated vanilla GU. Sip more water with Mortal.
8:23-8:28 AM Make a run for the bathroom, literally.
8:30-8:54 AM Run the 5K

[Unstated components of my training: A half-marathon in February, an 8:01/mile 4.2 mile run in April, and trying to keep a base of 30 miles through the ridiculously hot summer, plus 17 weeks of training for another race in December]

The weather was gorgeous, in the high 40's to low 50's, with sunshine! The course was a little bit hard to start, with some steep ups and downs around the lake. Then it was flat up and down the canal path. The turn-arounds were well marked this time, which really helped. (I did get a little freaked out when I lost sight of the men in front of me, though.) All in all, I would rate this race setup as A plus!

Some fast kids led for the first half mile or so. I looked down at my watch and consistently saw right under 8:00/mile, which is where I wanted to be, so I just tried to run my own race. I was breathing pretty hard, but the pace felt like I could sustain it, so that is what I attempted to do. I did not want to go too hard, either, as I have had some foot pain (extensor tendonitis?) and have my A race in a few more weeks from now. It was fun to hear the people at the aid stations say, "First women" as I passed. That is the first (and probably last) time I will hear that.

I found a small, small hill right past three miles. Getting up that felt hard. I tried to book it for the finish, and I think I did alright. My finish time was 24:10. If I had known I could get that close to 24:00, I might have tried to increase pace, but after all the foot pain I have had in the past week, I did not know if I could even run. My hope was to PR at faster than my Pat's Run pace, which would be 8:00/mile. The race clocked me at 7:46/mile, which is so exciting! All in all, I am so thrilled!

I am so thankful for my husband's constant support through this running journey, the coworkers who joined me to run, the people who cheered me on, a God who graciously let my body do this work, the Sole Sports staff who helped me find and buy my new Asics Magic Speed racers, and so much more. God is gracious. God is good. May this race support those doing the work of parenting kids from hard places, because man, they are the ones running not a sprint, but a marathon.

Top Ten of 2021

Well, it's that time again, time to wrap up the year. I always find it interesting what and where people read. Most people read on Facebook, and these were the posts with the most reach (in descending order, from greatest to least):

When Fun Isn't Fun Anymore
Payson Vacation
Afghan #65
Afghans 61 and 62
Real Life Marriage: Keeping My Marriage
Best Books of 2020
33.
Real Life Marriage: When the "Stuff" Comes Up
I Need Him.
Real Life Marriage: Deciding Versus Sliding

On my blog itself, the posts visited most often were (in descending order, from greatest to least):

Yoga Revolution (Yoga with Adriene) Review
The Three E's of Trauma
A Review of Yoga Fix 30
I Need Him.
Good Communication: Self-Aware and Selfless
The Importance of Parental Support for Marriage
The Strong Woman
Self Care is My Responsibility
When the Weight is Too Great to Bear
Marriage, Year Two: The Highs

Interesting that "I Need Him" is the only crossover post. And apparently my top posts are still from previous years. Oh well.

I hope you all enjoyed reading, and see you next year.

P.S. If you have a favorite post from the year, please feel free to share in the comments section. Thanks!

Don't Judge My Jeans (Or Whatever Pants I'm Wearing)

I didn't wear jeans until around fifth grade. I didn't like the way they fit or felt. I started wearing jeans when I moved to Arizona and was made fun of incessantly for my stretchy pants. I had a love/hate relationship with jeans shopping. I had to wear cowboy Wranglers for awhile to get them long enough. Later, I paid too much for Calvin Klein jeans that fit, but quickly ripped. I found some St. John's Bay jeans that fit for awhile, but then JC Penney stopped selling them. My last pairs of jeans were hand-me-downs from my Arkansas best friend. I outgrew one pair and the other is only good for winter. I told myself to look for new jeans and I occasionally did, but I didn't buy any last year. And I didn't for most of this year.

So what did I buy? Yoga pants and legging. They're not for everybody or every job, but they work for me. I spend a lot of my work days playing with kids. My body is constantly changing and fluctuating in size and yoga pants will fit most of the time. Yoga pants are cheaper and easier to clean than jeans anyway. And I can buy multiple pairs for the price of one pair of jeans. It seems like a win to me. And it feels more authentic.

Clothes are so much of a status symbol. And I'm not saying I'm immune. But what I am advocating for is more acceptance. Please don't judge me or the person next to me based on our pants (or our pant sizes!). You never know why a person wears what the clothes they wear. Those clothes might be all they have. Those clothes might be medically or job necessitated. Those clothes might be a marker of that person trying to accept their body. Those clothes might be just for comfort in a stormy season of life. Whatever the case, don't judge.

Side note: I did finally buy one pair of jeans. They're the same brand as my best friend hand-me downs, but decidedly shortly. They work with boots, so for this season, they'll do....