Last September, after getting back from an extended overseas college drop-off trip with my daughter, I decided that yoga would be a good way for me to get my bearings again as I navigate my new life in a new home as a newly minted college parent. I chose to do a reboot of Bad Yogi‘s Perfect Body Yoga Program (PBYP). On my first try earlier this year, it took me more than three months to finish this 8-week program because I did yoga only two to three times a week. But this second time around, I promised to follow its schedule — one class every day, Monday to Friday, with rest and meditation on weekends, for eight weeks straight.
Last weekend marked the completion of my reboot of PBYP. It was an amazing experience committing to yoga and to self-care everyday and it has taught me some valuable lessons.
There is time. If I really want to do something, I can find time to do it.
During my first attempt at this fitness program earlier this year, it felt like a busier time for me. I had more chores to do as our home was bigger and I had two homeschooling children under my roof. It seemed harder to carve out more me-time. Now, I live in a smaller home and have only one homeschooling child with me, so I figured I could find time more easily. While I was in the middle of my PBYP reboot, I realized that it wasn’t so much the lessening of laundry or of children in the home that mattered. What made the difference this time was my determination to follow the program’s schedule, to practice 30 to 45 minutes of yoga every weekday. Late afternoons was my daily routine, but I was flexible and I would move my practice to the morning or evening if necessary. If I couldn’t do it on a Tuesday, for example, I did the class on the next day, and so on to make sure I could finish that week’s classes before the next week began. Sometimes, I did back-to-back classes in one day. Because I truly wanted to do yoga every day, because I felt great when I did, I found the time for it.
There is space. All I really need is a temporary two-by-six-foot space.
When I started doing yoga in our fairly roomy house four years ago, I had more than enough space in my bedroom for a yoga mat and more. When my family moved to a condo two years ago, I still managed, with some moving around of furniture, to find space in the bedroom to practice. However, when we moved to a smaller condo unit a few months ago, I realized that there was no space for yoga in the bedroom. My only option was to practice in the living room, in that small space between the sofa and the TV, by pushing the coffee table to the area between the book shelf and the dining table. Since this was very much a common space, I had to schedule my yoga practice around meal times, TV times, chilling-on-the-sofa times. It helped a lot that my husband and son supported my yoga goal. During the times when I wanted to practice while they were also at home, they offered to stay in the bedrooms so I could have that space to myself for a while.
There is triumph. With a clear goal and a regular habit, I can accomplish anything.
Following the 8-week calendar of the PBYP, printing it, hanging it on my wall and crossing out the classes as I finish them helped in keeping me motivated to do yoga everyday. During this reboot, I felt my forward folds getting deeper, my warrior poses becoming more confident, and my planks getting stronger with every class and with every week that went by. And, unlike the first time where I marked my favorite classes which led to my enjoying some classes while fearing or dreading others, during this reboot I chose not to have any favorites and instead to approach each and every class as the same — a source of joy and challenge and all part of a continuing journey towards a healthier, stronger self.
I’m glad I was able to do yoga everyday, to commit to daily self-care, and to successfully complete the Perfect Body Yoga Program. I was grateful to be reminded to tell myself at the end of every practice, “I am perfect exactly as I am. I am exactly where I need to be.” Now, I’m excited for my next fitness goal (yoga included, definitely) to keep getting healthier and stronger.
Last Updated on November 20, 2018 by lea