What I Learned from Doing 30 Days of Yoga

Back in early July, I mentioned I was about to embark on yoga challenge—more specifically, I would do 30 days of yoga. I kept the “rules” pretty relaxed, since you know…that’s part of what yoga is all about.

Whether it was 10 minutes or 90 minutes….at home or an organized class…something I wanted to do or not…I can successfully say I completed the whole month of daily yoga sessions! Since I had multiple people ask me how it was going, I figured I should do a recap of my experience, sharing a little of what I learned from the personal challenge.

I had planned to attend more organized yoga classes, but I only ended up going to one. (Granted, it was by the beach and made me hella sore, so I made my one class count.) The rest of my yoga sessions were guided by free videos on Youtube. So ya, no goat yoga or anything, but if you end up doing a similar yoga challenge as me, I encourage you to spice it up!

My general feelings towards doing 30 days of yoga? It went really well! Making sure I fit in some yoga every single day wasn’t too difficult, even at the end of busy days when I forgot to do a session until I was getting ready for bed. (It helps that Savasana beautifully transitions into passing out for the night, but you know…maybe in a bed and not on the floor.)

Although the title of this post makes it sound like I uncovered deep secrets from the magical world of yoga (what with my stretch sessions as short as 10 minutes), there’s nothing too groundbreaking to share about my yoga experience. I simply did a bit of yoga every day and noticed some patterns in my thinking as I went from week to week.

Here’s a closer look at some of the lessons I learned throughout the challenge that, although simple and nothing new, have altered the way I view yoga for the future:

1. Yoga is what you make of it.

I apologize for ever assuming yoga wasn’t “hard enough” to be a workout. While it may not be like a bootcamp-type workout, yoga is a unique challenge. I’ve been looking at it the wrong way this whole time, which I think is why past me and so many other people claim it’s not “enough.” Granted, it might not be the ideal method of reaching specific fitness goals, but yoga has its own benefits.

What I really like about yoga (something that has taken me a LONG time to appreciate and embrace) is how it connects you to your body and surroundings. That “awareness” that’s stressed in pretty much every yoga flow ever is what intrigues me and makes me want to explore more of yoga. By recognizing when I’m doing things like…tensing certain areas of my body…or dwelling on stressful thoughts instead of letting them go…it helps me be more mindful of when I need to relax and adjust (in the studio or in everyday life).

So if you don’t want to do yoga? Don’t do it. I speak from personal experience when I say that if you go into it assuming you won’t like it…you’re probably not going to like it. But if you do want to learn to love it, don’t assume a few classes that weren’t your style are how all of yoga is. Figure out what you want to get out of it; seek instructors/styles/themes that can help you accomplish that; and let go of any preconceived notions you have. Oh, and have realistic expectations.

2. There’s yoga for almost every need and mood.

I’ve taken a couple “twilight” themed yoga classes in the past, which were geared towards helping you relax at the end of a day. There are also yoga classes out there that are designed to be more intense workouts (often faster-paced, more challenging, or even paired with other workouts). And of course there are always “beginner” yoga classes to make the experience less intimidating for newbies. (And soon, I plan to do a beer + yoga class, because that sounds like EXACTLY how I want to spend my Sunday.)

Since I did most of my sessions online, it was especially apparent that yoga can be customized to every need and mood. I loved choosing different videos designed for the exact vibe I wanted. Yoga for weight loss? Sure! Yoga for a deep stretch? Neeeed. Yoga to fall asleep? Yes, this is what I looked for on those days I forgot to do yoga until I was ready for bed. (Pro tip: some routines you can do IN bed, which was my all-time favorite when I just needed a quick wind-down from a long day. Just search “yoga in bed” to find some.)

3. Yoga doesn’t have to be a big deal.

This point is why I know I can make a regular yoga schedule work for me. Unlike more grueling workouts that require appropriate active wear (high impact sports bra or BUST #PunIntended), enough fuel to keep your energy levels up, and access to a shower soon afterwards (unless you aren’t a hot mess like me after workouts)—yoga doesn’t have to be a big “production” of sorts.

You can do it any time, anywhere, and wearing whatever you feel comfortable in. Although some of the sessions DID make me sweat quite a bit, most of the time I could just resume my day without needing to change or shower. I loved that freedom to just…do yoga and not have to do much of anything pre- and post-workout. By not viewing yoga as a “big deal” like other workouts can often feel, I’ve become open to doing it more often.

Final Thoughts

While I did enjoy the challenge and would highly recommend it, I will say that by basing most of my practice off Youtube videos, I think I lost some of the mental aspect of yoga that I was wanting—the “connect to your center and feel the universe” type of stuff. That might have something to do with the videos I chose, though. Some settings also got distracting, whereas a yoga studio is designed to be a relaxing space. Just some little notes for you if you choose to try your own yoga challenge.

By having the routine of my 30-day challenge, I found it much easier to stay committed. It was a reason to make myself get active every day (you know, other than my health bahaha). Moving forward, I plan to follow a weekly yoga schedule. At this point, I’m thinking I’ll work yoga into my Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays (the days I’m least likely to workout because of being busier).

I hope you found this yoga challenge recap novel helpful and/or interesting! Enjoy your Monday and don’t forget to take deep breaths and relax today. 😉

Disclaimer: The pictures of my yoga poses are not perfect form, but I wanted to document my journey with some visuals. 🙂 I’m a work in progress! But if you need help with your form, I highly recommend attending some classes to get personalized attention to improve your poses.