February Goal: 28 Days of Yoga
February Yoga goal complete! Last month my goal was to hike thirty different trails over the course of thirty days in January. It was fun being outdoors and active, but there were more than a couple of days that my knees were crying and the thought of trekking up one more hill made me want to curl up in a ball and hide out. For February I decided to practice Yoga for the entire month. I am not new to the idea of Yoga or even practicing Yoga but I am new to practicing twice a day, trying out new Yoga studios, and practicing consistently for twenty-eight days straight.
I’m still trying to decide which monthly challenge was…well, more challenging. Each challenge has presented different obstacles. For my Yoga challenge, the first obstacle was discovering that there was basically only one place to practice Yoga (outside of the home) in Mililani (future business opportunity for all you O’ahu Yogi’s looking to start a studio).
The second obstacle was my body. At the start of this challenge, it had been seven months since that Hysterectomy I mentioned in my last Blog post. It had pretty much been seven months since doing any Yoga as well. To say that I was stiff, inflexible, straining in my breathing, and generally struggling is barely scratching the surface of all the reasons “I couldn’t” for this twenty-eight day challenge.
In the spirit of Yoga, I had to train my mind to “let it go”, to “breathe”, and keep coming back, hoping that the next day would be a little bit better. And it was. Each day I learned a little bit more, made space in my body and mind, and strengthened my muscles that hadn’t been used in several months.
In order to attain my goal, I had to do some research. My Yogi friend Jennah provided me with two Yoga places on the Northshore. I used Yelp to find several other studios. And I also used Instagram and the MindBody App to sign up for classes online. From the beginning, I knew I would be more successful at achieving my goal if I stepped outside of the comfort of my home and took in person classes.
I started my in person Yoga class journey at a studio in Ewa Beach called Yoga4Ewa. Years ago, when I only had one little boy, and was even newer to Yoga, I had taken a class here with a friend. Cut to two pregnancies, a major surgery, middle age, and hiking as my only exercise…as I’m sure you can guess, I was thrashed after this first class. I immediately second guessed myself. Why did I commit to Yoga February?! Copious glasses of water, a hot soothing shower, and a good nights rest, and I was ready to tackle day two….plus all the rest of the days in February. I didn’t give up, even though I was feeling a little less enthusiastic. I was almost ready to quit before I had even started. But then I remembered something I had heard in a Yoga class before…”If it’s hard, you probably need it.”
Okay Yoga. I see you. It was hard. I needed it.
The Studios/Classes:
1. Yoga4Ewa: Vinyasa Fusion
2. Rec Center 6: Relaxing Vinyasa Flow with Judy
3. Yoga with Jennah: Outdoor Vinyasa Flow
4. Glo App: Beginners Yoga
5. Breathe Yoga: Yin/Yang Balance Flow
6. Glo App: Yoga Basics
7. She Brews Aloha: Yin Yoga (Open Air)
8. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Mindful Movement and Meditation
9. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Gentle Movement and Mindfulness
10. Core Power Yoga: Hot Yoga
11. Glo App: The Sit All Day Hatha
12. Glo App: Ten Strongest Poses Tutorial
13. Popoki and Tea: Cat Yoga
14. Yoga Collective O’ahu: Yoga with Nancy
15. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Restorative w/ Live Music
16. Open Space Yoga: Hatha Yoga with Mary
17. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Slow Flow
18. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Vin/Yin and Meditation
19. Open Space Yoga: Hatha Yoga with Mary
20. Yoga Collective O’ahu: Foundations and Flexibility
21. Yoga Collective O’ahu: Yoga with Nancy
22. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Hatha and Mantra
23. Rec 6: Restorative Flow
24. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Aloha Friday Flow
25. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Yin and Meditation
26. Open Space Yoga: Outdoor Rejuvenate
27. Northshore Yoga Co-op: Vinyasa
28. Yoga Collective O’ahu: Finale Flow
**I was also doing a daily home practice: Yoga with Adriene on YouTube: Center: a 30 Day Yoga Journey
I completely immersed myself into Yoga. Over the course of a month I felt my body slowly re-learning how to move again. How to breathe again. How to sit in stillness. How to focus. How to be gentle with myself. It was a month long lesson in movement, meditation skills, breath work, strengthening, lengthening, and observing. Now that I am at the end, I feel sad this challenge has come to a close (although I do plan to continue with daily home practice and hopefully one or two in person classes each week…I can’t help myself and I don’t want to backslide on my progress.)
While I’m not doing the splits, or dancers pose, or even fully mastering Chaturanga, I am showing up for myself each day and that was part of what I hoped to achieve when starting this year long monthly challenge. Some folks can do it naturally, and others of us need a “challenge” to propel ourselves into action.
I feel like Yoga is therapy and I just came off of a month long daily therapy session. I am reflecting, content, and excited for more. Yoga is like pizza! Even if it’s bad, it’s good. Even during some of my toughest practices this month, I still wanted another slice. Progress. At this point, I’m Yoga’s biggest fan. I can’t recommend it enough. If you are struggling with relationships, there’s a Yoga anecdote for that. If you are wanting to improve your health, there’s a Yoga class for that. If you wish to meet new, interesting people, there’s a Yoga studio for that. If you want to challenge your mind, there’s a Yoga mantra for that. I haven’t experienced anything close to the thoughts and feelings that come up when I’m breathing through a challenging Yoga pose/class. Hiking and being out in nature comes close, but hiking, for me, has less of a mind stimulating/altering component than Yoga.
While I was hopeful that more friends and family would find themselves tagging along with me during this Yoga experience, I realized that Yoga is a solo mission. Yes, it’s great to socialize and feel the energy from others in an in person class, but in the end, during each Yoga practice, it’s just you with your body and your mind and your breath and nothing else. Yoga is like reading. I can do it anywhere. I can get lost in it. I can spend hours thinking about it. Each class is like a new chapter in a book, waiting to offer you a new idea or way of thinking. I can share it, but ultimately the experience is mine and mine alone. I now see what all the hype is about.
Yoga Favorites:
1. Open Space Yoga in Waialua on The Land, the most spectacular view (when my eyes weren’t closed) of the Waianae Mountains to include Mount Kaala covered with a majestic mist.
2. Yoga Collective O’ahu near Kakaako in Honolulu, where I attended Yoga on Valentines Day and really felt the love. Also during one of my practices there I lucked out with being the only student in class, so a one on one session halfway through my month long journey was just what I needed to undo some of my bad habits from home practice.
3. Popoki and Tea Cat Yoga in Kaimuki was just a delight (and I don’t even like cats).
4. Core Power Yoga in Kapolei because I successfully didn’t pass out during HOT Yoga.
1. Don’t eat before Yoga.
2. While I really love outdoor Yoga, I prefer the comforts of an indoor studio.
3. You can modify almost any movement.
4. Yoga can alter your mood.
5. I barely needed coffee, Yoga was my energy boost.
6. My back makes loud popping sounds.
7. I can leave behind everything for an hour.
8. Apparently I need to get Venmo.
9. Yoga helped me look inward.
10. I really do have core muscles…buried way down deep.
For now I will close this intense therapeutic chapter, but I will be taking with me stillness, breathing, consistency, mindfulness. I will carry the lessons of February into March…I’ll SEA you later~
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