Category: #CheckedOffChallenge

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 12: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

Today I noticed my first major change from yoga. I was surprised to find that my pants felt looser around the waistband. I think all those planks are starting to work!

It’s so exciting to feel like I am getting healthier. Yes, my muscles are sore and a bit tired, but I already feel like I’m building muscle and strengthening my core.

Not only do I feel stronger on the outside, but I feel rejuvenated from within. It feels good to be reclaiming my health. It has definitely been challenging to stick with my #CheckedOffChallenge of 30 days of yoga. At times, it was hard to make myself complete my daily challenge, but it has been worth it. I can’t wait to see how I’ll feel on Day 30!

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 11: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

Every day I do my challenge and every day it seems as if the yoga goes faster and faster. I think that’s happening because:

  • I’m getting fitter
  • I enjoy it
  • It’s a short practice
  • Yoga with Adriene is fantastic
  • I’m not being too hard on myself

The last point I made may be the most important for me. Today in particular, I wasn’t able to hold many of the balance poses as long as I was supposed to be able to hold them. But I told myself that it was okay and that I would be able to do that one day.

The practice also included a more advanced pose as an option and I have now made it my personal goal to work towards completing that pose. 🙂 After hours in front of the computer, I’m going to follow up my yoga practice with a walk outside before getting back to work. 🙂 What are some of your goals?

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 10: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

I spent a lot of time in front of the computer today so I was all wound up for yoga. Luckily, I was able to get out of the house for a little while this evening, indulge in pizza from my favorite pizza place for supper, and then start my yoga challenge with a fresh perspective.

Besides eating pizza just before yoga (bad idea!), my practice tonight was deeply relaxing. It had some difficult aspects, but it wasn’t impossible.

One of the most challenging moves for me was the lunge. I actually toppled over! It must have been that extra slice of pizza weighing me down. But, I am still feeling great and I feel like I will continue to improve. I LOVED the new stretch at the end and I’m definitely feeling ready for bed and a good book!

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 9: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

Today was my first “failure.” I had a full day of hiking and working on projects and I planned on doing my #CheckedOffChallenge late last night. Somehow, I forgot all about it!

At about 20 minutes to midnight, I remembered and I promptly started my Day 9 yoga practice. BUT… it was around 25 minutes long so I didn’t finish until a few minutes after midnight.

Some people may say that I didn’t finish my Day 9: #CheckedOffChallenge because it went a few minutes into the next day. I am a perfectionist and I wanted to say it myself!

However… part of yoga is learning to be kind to yourself. Therefore, I am going to view it as a learning experience and say that I did do yoga on my Day 9, whatever the clock may say.

I started before midnight anyhow! lol

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 8: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

I had a crazy busy (but fun!) weekend so I am still playing catch up on my posts. Day 8 was the most crazy, busy, fun day!

On Saturday morning, I woke up to a reminder about an outdoor yoga event I had wanted to attend. On a whim, I clicked on the link and found that the event had two available tickets! I assume that someone cancelled last minute and I scooped them up.

As I rushed to get ready, I realized that I would probably be doing my #CheckedOffChallenge yoga late that night. I will admit, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be up to TWO yoga challenges in a day, but I couldn’t pass up the outdoor yoga experience.

It was a beautiful, sunshiney day outside and I loved every minute of it. The sun shone warmly on me as we went through a gentle yoga exercise. We were then encouraged to hike the property and I came across a rainbow in the mist of a waterfall. The colors billowed across the rocks as the mist hit the water below. As a result, I was lucky to see a rainbow in motion and it was an absolutely gorgeous sight!

After spending the rest of the day visiting a local barn, family, and friends, I was absolutely exhausted and tempted to count my earlier yoga experience as my #CheckedOffChallenge. Luckily for me, I stuck to my promise because Day 8 was a wonderful short meditation-based exercise. It was a perfect way to end an already perfect day!

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 7: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

Day 7 was a wonderful workout. I was initially very nervous because I wasn’t sure what was involved with the workout. As many of you know, I am doing the Dedicate series on YouTube by @YogawithAdriene.

The theme of Day 7 was Surya. I didn’t know what that meant so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Oh, well, I reasoned, it’s a short workout so I should be fine.

It turns out that I really enjoyed this workout. The flow was so amazing and fluid, I was surprised when it was over. Overall, really enjoyable!

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 6: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

This morning’s workout was the closest in time to my previous workout so far. I did Day 5 late last night and I completed Day 6 as soon as I woke up this morning. I discovered that I definitely prefer completing my #CheckedOffChallenge in the morning.

However, I think that I would love doing a more relaxing yoga practice at night. As far as health goes, I’m feeling:

  • Stronger. My muscles are already beginning to feel stronger.
  • More flexible. I just feel looser and more relaxed throughout the day.
  • Tons more energy. I didn’t go to sleep till late last night and I usually struggle with waking up in the morning, but I was ready to get up and go today!
  • Better breathing. I was shocked at how tight my chest muscles were when I first started.

Today’s workout seemed to concentrate on abs. I much prefer ab work because it’s a) not TOO difficult for me and b) I can really feel it. Ab-focused exercises are easier for me in some ways, but I always get sore neck muscles when I do ab work so I think I must be doing something wrong. Any tips would be much appreciated!

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 5: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

Today was one of the most challenging for me thus far. I had a pretty packed calendar and I planned to do Day 5 tonight, which may have been my first mistake.

So far in this challenge, I have done every day of yoga first thing in the morning. I’m not sure if it was the change in routine, muscle fatigue, or just general fatigue, but I wasn’t able to hold a couple of the last poses for the full duration. I had to modify and I hated that I had to do that.

This taught me that:

  • I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. I’ve done my best and I need to be happy with that!
  • I can try returning to morning yoga and see if that helps.
  • Some poses are going to be hard for me AT FIRST because I need to build muscle. But that doesn’t mean they will be difficult forever. Just for right now.
  • Yoga at night is extremely relaxing.

On some of the early poses, I felt amazing. And, even though I can already tell I’m going to be sore tomorrow, I can’t wait to get back to the mat!

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 4: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

As you might have noticed, I did not post my usual blog yesterday. I DID do my #CheckedOffChallenge, though.

My #CheckedOffChallenge was done at 5 a.m. and I didn’t get back home until very late in the evening. I LOVED Day 4. It was an awesome workout and something I really needed. It was all about hips, etc. and just really wonderful overall. Such a nice way to wake up in the morning!

Something interesting that I noticed was that I was able to easily walk up hills and stairs without getting out of breath. Since I’d only returned to Yoga for about 4 days at that point, I don’t think I can say this was entirely due to yoga, BUT I feel like it has helped a lot!

My extra challenge is that I haven’t done my #CheckedOffChallenge today. I have about 4 hours to complete it so wish me luck!

#CheckedOffChallenge

Day 3: #CheckedOffChallenge

BelleBaileyWrites

Today was both really good and really challenging. It was really good because I enjoyed the yoga practice this morning. It felt different than it had been and I felt challenged in new ways. I really loved the balance aspect of it and the lack of planks! lol

On the other hand, today was really challenging. I ended up doing yoga around 5:45 this morning because I had to leave the house early. However, it was much easier to actually get up and do it because:

  • I have accountability
  • I am already making this a habit

If it had been my first day, I doubt I would have been strong enough to do it. Saying all this, tomorrow I’ll need to do yoga early again and I just hope that I will be strong enough!