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Sonja Bjelland sporting a tree pose among palms Photo by Dug Begley

21 days, did it change my life?

We’ll see.

On January 10, I signed up for Yoga Journal’s 21-day Yoga Challenge to hold onto my 2012 intention of “possibility.” 

I’ll admit, I’m a little behind. This morning I completed the video for day 15.

But I have done yoga almost every day in the last 21 days so if I was heading to an hour and a half yoga class, I didn’t always make time for the 45 minutes or so of the Yoga Challenge.

Doing so much yoga lately has taken me back to my traveling days. When I stayed in ashrams or was participating in a yoga program, it was my life. Hours of yoga every day. The Yoga Challenge has been a way to bring a little of that back to my daily life and would be a great addition for teachers to include as a take home from a yoga retreat.

It’s the kindling for an at home practice. But I haven’t yet started it as a ritual.

In doing this and needing a new book to read, I’ve finally picked up my copy of Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit.”  She talks about the importance of having a ritual to start your day to put yourself in your creative place.

This has melded nicely with the Yoga Challenge and given me options.

I plan on continuing through the 21 days worth of videos, and stretching out this challenge by mixing in regular yoga classes. This way I can figure out what suits me. Do I want to do 15 minutes of sun salutations every morning followed by stretching out what feels like needs it. Or do I like a video telling me what to do?

Most of the Yoga Challenge teachers I could easily follow on video but one required more looking at my screen because even the model had trouble following her instructions.

These last few weeks have also made me rethink how I do yoga. Changing clothes multiple times in the morning would be a barrier for me. So I gave up on that.

Taking a shoulder stand in the Singapore Flyer By Sonja Bjelland

I’ve done the videos in my jammies and my jeans. Neither is ideal. But really it’s 20-30 minutes and it doesn’t have to be perfect, I just want to do it to see if it helps me stay focused for the rest of my day.

I’ve also put my mat in my office so I can’t avoid it. I leave it rolled out and even have pillows handy for sitting during the 15-minute meditation.

Yes, I could have a special place in a less busy space without cushy carpet. But I needed this set up for success.

I agree it’s nice to have a place that’s designated for yoga just like the bedroom should not double as an office. But this is also about working yoga into my day, not working my day around yoga. Maybe keeping this up will mean I work more efficiently and I will be able to take 90 minutes for a daily yoga practice in a separate room. Until then, I’ll fit in what I can and try to rebuild the daily yoga I enjoyed during my travels.