Burpees, jump squats, jumping rope, boxing, – just about anything that makes my sports bra soaking wet are my go-to workouts. Even if that meant I have body pains the next day. At 34 years old, am I that old that my knees and back hurt after strenuous exercise? I don’t remember that happening when I started with Freeletics in 2019. Yesterday, after a workout, my body proved its point – it’s not as invincible as it was before. Time to make a change!
How My 30 Days of Yoga Began
I was feeling a misalignment in my back. When this happens, I turn to Yoga with Adriene’s (YWA) Yoga for Scoliosis. I rolled out my old blue yoga mat and started practicing. After that 25-minute session, my back felt better.
I then found myself playing YouTube videos of “I did yoga for 30 days…” as my background noise while working. I was looking for the noticeable changes, such as being able to do challenging asanas and becoming more flexible. But I noticed that many of these creators talked about the physical improvements in passing. The most salient message I received was that yoga improved their mental health. They feel more present and live more intentionally. I wondered… if I do yoga for 30 days, will I experience the same mental health benefit they’re talking about?
Let’s Do 30 Days of Yoga and Find Out for Myself.
It’s not my first time doing a 30-day challenge. I’ve done 30 days of yoga with Yoga with Adriene in 2023, but I believe I missed a day or two. In that month-long yoga practice, I noticed my core got strong. Unfortunately, I didn’t write about it, but I did write about my 30 days of pushups.
What am I expecting this time around? Obviously, I’m looking to experience the mental benefits they talked about. At the same time, I’m thinking it might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because they experienced it, I’ll experience it, too.
As for the physical changes, I’m not expecting anything. If I get a stronger core like the last time I did this challenge, then great! If I’m able to do difficult asanas, then awesome. The paradox of this challenge is, I work out not just to be healthy and fit but also to look like my pre-mommy era. That’s 8 kgs ago. Now, how can a slow “stretching” exercise like yoga help me achieve this???
Finding the Motivation
I’m a motivated person. I’ve been working out from home since 2011. I always go for the high intensity exercises because the feeling of seeing and feeling the sweat drops on my skin is satisfying. I somehow correlated the idea that more sweat leads to better results. It’s one reason why I yoga was an on-off practice for me. I thought incorporating 2-3 days of yoga each week was a waste.
Recently, I haven’t been that diligent. I’ve worked out nine times from August 1 to August 25, and it’s unusual for me! On average, I would’ve worked out 16 times already. How did I end up with only nine sessions in three weeks? I need to work out, but I can’t do my usual workouts, so off I go to do 30 days of yoga – without any other workouts.
Tools
I’ve been following YouTube yoga channels for years, and I had no problem with that. But as I read through yoga posts on Reddit, the DownDog app was highly recommended. Some Redditors described it as soulless, and some liked it for that reason. I had to check out for myself why something soulless is liked. I signed up for the 14-day free trial.
Why soulless?
The app is simple. You can customize your practice. You can choose the length of practice, the AI voice, instruction details, the body part boost, transition speed, music style, and the type of yoga: hatha, vinyasa, yoga nidra, or chair yoga.
Once you set up your preference, it’ll generate your yoga practice for the day, and you’re off to go!
It was soulless, yes…
But I loved it!
After my free trial ended, I subscribed for a year. What’s great about this subscription is I also have access to the suite of DownDog apps – meditation, pilates, HIIT, and barre.
The Actual 30 Days of Yoga Experience
Surprisingly, it was easy! Two days into the challenge, I went on a vacation for three days. The hotel we stayed in didn’t have a gym, and I didn’t have a yoga mat with me. I’m not going to miss three days because of this. I decided to do it on the floor even if I can’t take the thought of lying down on the floor without anything. Then again, the floor was too slippery, probably from the mix of Tagaytay’s cool, humid air and the aircon. I had no choice but to use the bed runner, and it went well! I was able to do warrior poses without slipping.
The Challenges
There were a few bumps in my 30 days of yoga. On Day 9, we were out celebrating my in-law’s birthday, and we got home late. As soon as we got home, I rolled out my mat and practiced for 10 minutes. That’s exactly what I like about the DownDog app! It’s easy to customize a practice. If I were just relying on YouTube, I’d end up scrolling through a bunch of videos and picking the “best” 10-minute one because of the thumbnail.
After that weekend, I got sick. I couldn’t stand for too long because my head hurt, but I didn’t want to stop. I searched “yoga for when you’re sick,” and of course, YWA was the first one to show up. The video was 10 minutes long, but I couldn’t finish it, so I practiced for five minutes on my bed.
The Support
In the early days of the challenge, I practiced in the morning, but I had to switch to evening practice because it helped me sleep better. My husband and kid have been supportive of my 30 days of yoga. My kid practices her own yoga with Cosmic Kids, but there was a time when she practiced with me using the DownDog app.
Our bedroom light is off by 8:30 PM, and the three of us exchange the best and worst parts of our day. After that, my husband will put her to sleep, then I’ll start practicing yoga in the darkness of our bedroom. The DownDog app sometimes helped both of them drift off to sleep. Our eyes adapt in dark places, and even if the light was off, I knew my kid could see what I was doing, and there were two instances when she said “You’re amazing, Mom.” I don’t know what made her say it, but it made my heart smile.
The Results
So, after 30 days, did I experience the mental benefit the YouTubers were talking about? I can’t say for sure! But what I know for sure is the time I spent on the mat is my own. I was in my own world. Even if my kid hasn’t fallen asleep yet and I know in the darkness, she’s doing something silly like mimicking the asanas I’m doing while she’s lying down on the bed, I’m able to focus on what I’m doing – the poses and the breathing. Maybe this is close to the mental benefit the creators were talking about.
What about the physical challenges? I’m not more flexible, nor can I do difficult asanas, but I noticed that I have more control of my body. Before the challenge, every time I transitioned from a three-legged dog pose to a low-lunge, my step would always land heavy. As the challenge went on, the step became lighter. Amazing, right?!
Here’s something that I knew was bound to happen based on my previous challenge – my core has gotten super strong. My abs are slowly showing up. I can’t believe I dismissed yoga for too long – and now I’m loving it.
What’s Next After 30 Days of Yoga
I’ll continue practicing yoga, but there’s no pressure to keep the streak. If I’m unable to practice for a day, it’s okay, but I’m happy to announce that I’m on a 45-day streak right now. Since my abs are showing up, I planned to do a 30-day challenge of doing 10,000 steps. Yes, planned. I started on September 30, but after three days of doing it, my knee gave up. I’ve been trying again and again, but my knee can’t keep up. Whatever the next fat burn challenge is, I’ll document it here.
