Yoga Challenges

I've been doing yoga off and on since I was in high school. I've become more dedicated to my practice in the last few years, with a focus on poses that improve strength. When I re-started my regular practice I did some research and planned a program I thought suited my later-in-life needs. Lately I realized that I had been using those same poses in the same order for so long that I was more mindless than mindful in my practice, and I resolved to change that during this year. I serendipitously came across two different 30-day challenges by teachers on Youtube that I've followed and trusted. I did them both during January, and I highly recommend either -or both- series.

Fightmaster Yoga has a 30-day challenge specifically for beginners. I went to bed at night looking forward to joining her for a video the next morning. This is Day 1:

and the other days follow in the playlist there or at this link. From her Youtube page: "Beginners yoga 30 day challenge is a perfect program for the beginner and for those who want to deepen their practice."

The next 30-day series is from Yoga With Adriene. Here is her Day 1:

and the other videos can be accessed via the playlist here. The Yoga with Adriene series is more advanced and required more adaptations for me to use it, but adaptations are actually simple to insert as you can just stay in the pose you could do right before the pose you can't or you can just attempt her more advanced posture while staying within the ability of your own body. She encourages an openness that makes the adaptations feel fine. But the series isn't geared to beginners like the Fightmaster one is.

I missed several days and am still not finished with either series, but I'll get back to them soon.

I'm saving these in a folder and will use both series again later in the year. I subscribe to both of these channels on Youtube and have signed up for notifications so that I get an email when a new video is published. Yoga has many, many health benefits, can be adapted for any fitness level, and is both calming and energizing. I'd encourage you to check them out if it's an appropriate activity for you. (My practice is doctor-approved for me by the doctors I've had over the years.)

If these videos are beyond your current ability, try chair yoga. There are many videos in the search results at that link.