40 days. 1 yoga pose. 3 minutes a day.
Did I make it? Kind of…
Did I learn something? You betcha
Did I see growth in the physical pose? Yup, among others.
Did I see growth in other aspects? For sure!
40 days ago – well, 42 days ago, I think- I challenged myself to find a yoga pose and hold it for 3 minutes a day, each and every day, for 40 days. The pose was to be one that I found challenging, but not impossible. One that I had been trying to develop, but had hit a plateau. For me, this was the King of Asana – Headstand.
Yikes. What a doozy to pick.
So here is the break down. For 40 days, I stood on my head for 3 minutes. A few times, I missed a day, but I made up for it over the next few days by adding on additional time. And I made it through 40 days…almost. I had a few ups and downs on my last 4 days, but added a couple days on to make up for it.
I had a lot of ups and downs along the way – literally. Kicking up to the wall, lifting one leg away at a time, flipping over onto an air mattress, being held in place on a sloped, bumpy, campsite by my husband.
When I started out, my neck would feel crunched afterwards. I need a wall to kick up to and to hold me steady. During the first few times, the 3 minutes seemed to last FOREVER. My shoulders burned. My sinuses felt pressure.
And then things changed. After the first 5 days, I could hold without as much burn. The minutes passed by a little more quickly. My core strength started to build and kick in.
I added a few poses – shoulderstand, the Queen of asana, and plow pose- to help release my neck.
Around the second week, I noticed I was able to kick up to the wall, but slowly hold my feet away from it for the whole 3 minutes. A few days later, I kicked up in the middle of the room and held for a few moments – not quite the full 3 minutes. During shoulderstand, my shoulders, hips, and toes started to line up. In plow pose, my toes would easily touch the ground behind my head. My neck no longer hurt.
Eventually, I could hold for three minutes, away from the wall. But I learned so much more than this. I learned to tap into my inner strength. I learned perseverance. My perspective grew a bit more mellow (could also be form a few things I am reading currently) as it was flipped upside-down. I reached past the limitations in more than one asana posture. I felt stronger and that I was capable of anything. Practice makes perfect.
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Did you participate in the challenge? What thing in your life have you hit a plateau with? Leave a message below and we can discuss!
Picture to come soon!
Peace and love,
Jessi
