(Disclaimer: I started writing this back in January 2017, which will be obvious from my Christmas references. I guess better late than never!)
As I finally finished up this challenge (a lot later than I had planned), I realized how much I grew to love the yoga practice. The last month I have ebbed and flowed through fitness. I did some yoga, some kickboxing, etc. What I realized is how much of a difference those regular days of yoga practice made. I had a solid week where I didn’t do any exercise. I chose to put that aside to work on my Christmas presents. I woke up that Saturday morning and all my joints were just aching like crazy; everything from my ankles to hip to my knees. I have had this happen a few times in the past but mostly when it gets colder around here. The problems of an 29 year old 🙂
After feeling achy all day I thought back to how I hadn’t done my yoga practice in a while. That was sort of my light bulb moment where I knew this was something my body needed on a daily basis. I know people talk about their “soulmate” workouts, well I found mine. It is definitely yoga and Les Mills BodyCombat. If you’ve never heard of and/or taken a BodyCombat class, google it. It is an amazing workout that never feels like a workout.
That is one thing I have always struggled with and I talked about it in my initial yoga challenge post. I can’t make myself do any exercise I don’t find fun. My boyfriend is one of those people who loves the pain he gets from exercise and over exertion. I am NOT! I have tried and tried to be one of those people because social media is filled with those who are sculpting “sexy” bodies via weightlifting and following flexible dieting. But let’s be real for a moment: constantly trying to weigh stuff to “fit your macros” and getting to the gym to lift weights isn’t for everyone.
I think it should be about doing whatever keeps you active, whether that is weights, yoga, running, walking, workout DVDS, etc. I think for a while I had fallen into the social media trap of what my body “could” look like. But what I didn’t realize is what a lot of those girls and guys were sacrificing to get there. If that’s your thing, go you! Like most people, I enjoy different foods (not so good and healthy ones) and some days I don’t care for exercising. I think when you find a workout you love and makes you feel good, then you want to do it more. But the journey to get there can be daunting and I have given up on programs more times than I can count. It drives my boyfriend crazy. But I guess that is why it’s called a journey, huh?
So you are wondering if I finished the full challenge??
I did not :/ I will use the excuse of holidays and laziness. Seriously though I was about 3 workouts shy of finishing them all. I still may do them but not consecutively.
Adriene did come out with a new 31 day practice. I’m super excited to be doing that. I think I will do one big post on my final thoughts. If you are curious about it I will link it here. It’s called YogaRevolution. I can say that so far, I’m loving it. Like I’ve said before, I love her method of teaching. She is very encouraging without making you feel like you aren’t flexible enough, skinny enough, strong enough, etc. There are only positive vibes with her videos. Definitely go check it out. I will update you on my YogaRevolution in February.
Update:
I’m not sure why I decided to post this almost a year late but I didn’t want to leave the updates unfinished. I do still practice yoga and watch Adrienne’s videos. I’ve really been enjoying this 8 minute video and this 12 minute Sun Salutation. I like doing these together because it’s about 20 minutes and I feel good after that amount of time. I didn’t do her Yoga Revolution series but starting tomorrow she will be doing another 30 day challenge called TRUE. I will write more about that on Friday. I will also be starting a monthly frugal fitness series where I talk about my frugal fitness journey and what I did in that last month.
I would love to hear what types of programs or exercises have become your soulmate workouts. I would love to try new things 🙂
Danielle
I would love to hear your thoughts!