It’s the penultimate day of my 60-day Bikram Yoga Challenge. Yup that’s right, I made it to Day 59. Just one more day to go and I’ll be “done”. Done is in quotes because I’m going to take a break, for a short trip to Boston, and I’ll be back on the mat when I’m back!
In case you’re wondering what possessed me to take on this challenge, I decided that I was feeling a little stuck in my practice, and wanted to push myself to a new level. Really I couldn’t come with a good enough excuse to not to it.
I’ve truly enjoyed every moment of it.
Yes even those moments when I was gasping for air, secretly wishing the overhead sprinklers would turn on, and most of all those moments when the instructor would hold us in a difficult posture for longer than the allotted time and I’d be secretly cursing them.
What’s been most surprising isn’t the challenge, but people’s reaction to me doing it.
This past weekend I was at a party, and people were asking me why I wasn’t drinking alcohol, and I explained that I was participating in a 60-day Bikram Yoga Challenge.
I immediately got reactions like, “ZOMG that sounds hard!” And, “Ugh I hate the heat.” To, “I could never do that, I’m not flexible…”
My favorite was, “Wow that must be sooo time consuming. Do you work?”
It’s called a challenge for a reason, and it’s designed to:
Not be convenient. You have to carve out time from your day to do it. For me that was waking up most days around 5am, to get on the mat by 6am, so that I could then put in a full day’s work after it. Plus drinking liter after liter of water, avoiding alcohol, eating healthily, and getting enough sleep.
Push your limits. The first 10 days were especially challenging because I had been used to taking breaks after a 3 or 5 day stretch. During the challenge my body didn’t get a chance to rest, and surprising it got stronger!
Test your ability to commit. At any point in time I could have come up with excuses like: “I have to launch my Ship It course… I’ll just quit the challenge.” “I have to plan my wedding… I’ll just quit the challenge.” “I have to head up to SF to film FemgineerTV… I know I’ll quit the challenge.” I could have also backed out of each of those commitments saying that the challenge was taking up all my time. But I was committed to the challenge and wanted to honor my previous commitments, so I managed to fit it all in. I did learn to say no to things that came up that I knew I wouldn’t be able to devote time to.
When I started I was keeping close track of each day, and couldn’t really fathom what Day 40, 50, or 60 would be like. But after Day 30, I found flow, a state of happiness from doing something you love, and it no longer mattered what day I was on.
I think it’s the inability to imagine an outcome that causes people to avoid starting a challenge.
All you know is your limits.
Given those limits, it seems impossible to move past them.
But the point of doing a challenge is to test those limits. To learn, grow stronger, and more confident as you continue to push them.
I’m a little sad that the challenge is over, because I miss anticipating every moment. Wondering what it will be like, and what I’ll get out of it.
The mystery is over, I’m left with the memory, and it’s time to find another challenge!
Now I want to know, what was your last challenge, and how did you feel once you conquered it? Let me know in the comments below!
