The Hardest Part Is Showing Up

Welcome to my journey of consecutively practicing yoga for 30 days and the lifetime of knowledge it has gifted me. Yoga is as equally a mental game as it is a physical practice combining elements of mindfulness, strength building, flexibility, flow, and consistency into one's life. Every day for the past 30 days of January, I have completed a 15-30 minute yoga practice alongside Yoga with Adriene's January program called Move on YouTube. The idea of these practices symbolizing movement goes beyond the physicality of yoga, but spreads into my person life as 2022 is going to be filled with a lot of movement. I turn 18 next month, graduate high school this year, will be travelling during the summer, then moving to a brand new place for college in the fall and throughout all of these major life milestones I want to remember what it feels like to move, even if it is hard. Adriene brings the constant reminder that the hardest part is showing up, but that we have already done that much and the hardest part is over, so next time you find yourself in a difficult situation remember that and be proud of all of the times you have showed up.

1. Today was the first day of my yoga journey and it felt really good to move and I am feeling very in tune with my body. I feel ready start the first new week of 2022 and back to school after having winter break off.

2. At first it was a struggle to get myself going, but once I got into it the flow took over and I am really glad that I followed through. I got to experience the power of breathwork today and how it really can aid you through more difficult positions with more control and ease.

3. I did not get off of work until 10pm tonight and I was extremely tempted to skip, but very proud of myself for showing up anyway because the practice actually went by super fast and I was genuinely in the moment and mindful for the entire 25 minute practice. I found that despite finishing yoga at quarter past 11, I had so much energy all of a sudden just by getting in touch with my mind and body.

4. Day 4 was a full 30 minute flow and within this time I started to really play the mental game of yoga as well as starting to understand and experience how fun it can be to smoothly transition from one position to the next.

5. Tonight I spent the night at a friends house for the first time during my yoga challenge and I made sure that I would stick with it no matter what obstacles came up, so instead I invited my friend to practice with me and it was actually really fun. She is now a beginner yogi as well!

6. There was so much core work today that I feel like I just got back from the gym, but it still felt amazing to move and now I am very relaxed and ready for rest!

7. I did not want to do yoga today. After my first week of yoga I have hit the point where I would usually just give up, but with the mindset of a new year, the theme of move, and remembering that the hardest part is showing up: I showed up. I showed up and it was hard, but by the end I did not want it to end and I lied there for a bit stretching more on my own.

8. Today was another long practice but a very nice start to a new week to help set the tone.

9. Day 9 was amazing, I came home right after the gym and had a post-workout stretch while working out the tightness in my muscles and even adding more core strength.

10. Day 10 marks the 1/3 of the yoga challenge completed and I am so proud of myself for that. It is amazing how in touch I have become with my body even in every day life. I also can officially touch my palms to the ground which is an exciting milestone for just beginning.

11. I am super excited for how much of habit yoga will become at the end of this journey because I am only on day 11 and I already am in love with how good it feels to move my body at least once a day.

12. I did the math and I have done around 5 hours of yoga just in the first 12 days of 2022 which is kind of insane! Every day I learn something new about the practice itself, but also my body, mind, my limits, and how to push them.

13. Yoga was hard today and instead of giving up I modified it a lot instead, but tomorrow I am going to try and practice earlier in the day so I am not as exhausted and hopefully it goes over more smoothly

14. Day 14 is only about 20 minutes long and I am secretly happy because I do not feel like doing anything else but going to bed, but being almost half-way through, I will not allow myself to give up.

15. Half-way through. I am so proud of myself.

16. I am finally at the point where yoga is a part of my daily routine and although I have not been as involved during the last few practices, I am still showing up and that is the hardest part.

17. Adriene started off today's video by saying to grab a blanket and a pillow... thank goodness because I am exhausted. We did a lot of breathwork and taking time to communicate with our bodies' needs.

18. Today was so hard but once again, I showed up. We focused a lot on the sensations of our movement and less on the structure of the positions which I enjoyed as I could modify without feeling guilt as well as being able to freely add my own touches.

19. Today Adriene said "the process is the reward" and that really resonated with me. I sometimes have a hard time being mindful during yoga but this reminded me of the purpose of yoga and how being present can completely change the meaning of a moment.

20. 2/3 complete with this yoga journey. I absolutely loved today's practice because we combined a lot of previously learned material and connected them to the point where I really got to experience the flow aspect of yoga. Today was the first time I felt really confident in my yoga abilities.

21. Day 21 was a huge milestone for me as one of my favorite spiritual/mindfulness influencers and meditation leaders, Aaron Doughty, always says that it takes 21 days of doing something consistently to make a habit and practicing yoga every day has officially become a habit.

22. Today was the first day that I was so excited to practice that I could not wait to get started. I felt like I really needed the stretch as I have been doing it for so long that it really is a part of my routine. The positions are starting to intensify but so have my mental and physical abilities!

23. I had super low energy today and I was ready for bed right before I started, but I got myself to show up regardless. I was anticipating myself to give up at some point during the practice, but before I knew it the video was ending and I am so proud of myself for pushing through.

24. Today I had off school and used yoga as my morning kickstart to a productive day. Right after yoga I went to the gym and then a cute little coffee shop to actually write this blog post that you are reading right now haha!

25. Being busy in the morning and at night left me with a forced mid-day timeslot to practice yoga. I knew I had to do it then or I never would and looking back I am actually grateful I got to check in with myself in the middle of my day because so often I think we get so caught up in our busy lives that mindfulness goes overlooked.

26. I stayed at a friends house again tonight and we both did yoga day 26 together and it sometimes is really nice to have someone else physically there to hold you accountable and to be in it with you.

27. Today was a strength practice and the idea of pushing my limits immediately diminished any bit of motivation I had. I realized that if I just modified and picked out the parts I wanted to participate in that I would not enjoy it as much since I would not be in the moment and it would seem to drag on instead, so I pushed myself to actively participate. It was a hard practice, but I am proud of my mindset change as I felt like I got a thorough stretch and strength building.

28. I am so close to the end and keep reminding myself that to push through! I am excited to see where my new yoga skills will take me for the rest of 2022 and my life beyond just this year.

29. Knowing that I am so close to the end of this challenge is making me want to give up now as I am just so tired today, but I will not let myself do that as I owe it to myself.

30. I was very observant of my mind and body during today's practice as it is the last one in this specific program which is very bittersweet as it was what gave me a true appreciation for the yoga practice. Yoga really is a form of art as it combines self expression, meditation, physical activity, determination, strength, and affects so much of one's life off of the mat as well as on it. Today was a self-led practice which helped me to shape out how I may practice in the future. I enjoyed being able to move at my own pace and incorporate the many positions I have learned as well as the flow of breath and movement. I am very happy with my progress in yoga and today's practice really solidified how far I have come.

30 consecutive days is a lot of yoga, over 10 hours actually, but it really has transformed how I go about my day. I am generally a lot calmer and more at peace than I was before I started practicing which has made me a very mindful person. I take deep breaths and sit up straight in class and take time to stretch my body and isolate my movements. I would recommend starting yoga if you have not already and continuing it if you already practice over any other form of exercise or meditation because it combines both in such a divine way.

Thank you for coming with me on my 30 day yoga journey to kick off the new year and namaste!

-Emma Claire