40 Day Yoga Challenge and Beyond

My first yoga class EVER was August last year. I went to Black Swan Yoga as an instructors guest and bought a yoga mat right before class. I was excited and had no clue what to expect. For example, I didn’t know I was getting myself into a hot yoga class, much less a powerful flow class. It was intense! The one hour class kept going and going and… you get the point. I thought it would never end. But then, at end of class we collectively took a few oms before ending the practice with savasana (corpse pose). There, in the last few minutes of class, is when all the hard work made sense. So I came back the next day and got myself a membership at Black Swan Yoga.

One month later I decided to start a 40 day yoga challenge just for kicks! Spoiler: I only made it 32/40 days. Because I was so new to yoga to begin with, there was so much for me to discover and experience! I learned a little more about myself and about the yoga practice with each passing day.

A cooler part of the challenge was getting to be part of a community of like-minded individuals who just want to better themselves and carry the discipline of yoga into other aspects of their lives. On Friday nights the yoga challenge group would get together to discuss Baron Baptiste’s 40 Days to Personal Revolution. A theme from the book was selected at each group meeting to observe throughout the week, then we would talk about how we observed and tried to live by X theme that week (eg. presence, vitality, equanimity). It felt a little like school, but the good part of school where you get to talk to your friends about things that actually interest you. If someone had told me book clubs were this cool, I would have started a long time ago!

I may not have finished every single day out of 40, but I still felt really good about myself! Before the challenge I was strictly taking beginners classes, I lacked confidence in my yoga practice, I had trouble breathing, and I couldn’t do any cool arm balances. I have made a complete 180º in all aforementioned “befores” and have made even greater changes in the 5 months since the completion of the 40 Day program.

I’m currently doing a 30 Day Challenge at BSY again, and I hope this program is just as beautiful of an experience as the first. I’m there all the time. Send me a DM on Instagram if you want to meet up – I would love to introduce you to BSY!

XO, Vivian

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