30 (one) Days of Yoga

Another year is upon us, and resolution season has begun.  I almost never make resolutions, because it’s hard for me to see New Year’s Day as different from any other day or starting point.  So this year, instead of resolving to do something, I’ve simply decided to do yoga everyday for the month of January.  I have a few friends joining me in this decision; the start date was supposed to be the 2nd of the month, for 30 days of yoga, but as the overachiever that I am, I started on the 1st.  Thirty-one days of yoga.

As a person who instructs yoga classes, you’d think that I’d be practicing everyday anyway.  That is my goal, but it hasn’t always been the reality.  Between injury, a new teaching schedule, plus all the other activities I like to leave time for, I probably averaged four or five days of practice a week at best.  This month is my chance to make sure that I sit down on my mat each day--if only for 20 minutes of Sun Salutations or pranayama.  I’ll also be reading “Meditations from the Mat,” and I’ll blog my experience here.  I hope you’ll follow me for the next month.  Who knows; maybe I’ll end up like the character from “Julie and Julia” and go for 365 days of yoga.  We’ll see.

My practice today was short--I spent the day skiing with my family in Utah and celebrating my mom’s birthday.  In between delicious turns and pre-dinner drinks, I took 30 minutes to myself on my mat, easing my tight spine into the strong, supple infrastructure that it should be and my legs--oh how they screamed at me!--I stretched until even Hanumanasana was no match for me.  Sweet dreams.