At the beginning of 2021, I took on the challenge of doing yoga for at least 30 days. I had no idea what yoga really involved, if I’d be able to do it or whether it would be so relaxing I’d just end up falling asleep.
I’d always admired yogis for how elegant and flexible they all seemed to be. As I was none of those things and instead rigid and rather rough around the edges, I’d avoided the practice completely for my whole life.
Like a lot of people at the beginning of a new year, I was writing down my goals. I knew in October I had the London Marathon to train for. Not only did I have a goal of actually training for my marathon but I also wanted to get there injury fee.
My 2020 virtual marathon I ended up walking. Why? Because I hadn’t done any of the training needed. My ‘training’ had consisted of a couple of runs, a few workouts here and there and two walks the week before. I was NOT prepared!
You’d think walking a marathon would be quite easy. So did I! I will happily admit how very wrong I was. I ended my marathon (which took place on the wettest day of the year) soaked, hobbling, losing toe nails and unable to wear shoes for about 2 months. It was not a pretty sight.
Now you may be wondering what on earth this has to do with yoga. Well…I’d been told yoga helps prevent injury. So my thinking was, if I started yoga I’d spend the whole year injury free for the first time ever. That would also mean I’d be able to train and suffer less completing my 2021 marathon.
Where to begin?
When searching for beginners yoga videos on YouTube lots of different suggestions come up. As a beginner who doesn’t know where to start this really isn’t helpful, you don’t know which one to click on.
One which caught my eye was Yoga With Adriene, who I’d actually heard of in the past. With 9.99 million subscribers it seemed like a pretty reputable source to start my yoga journey.
I cleared a small space in my room, dusted off my yoga mat (well old camping mat) and set up my iPad. I didn’t want to start with some great long video so chose a shorter 20min one to see if yoga was something I had a chance of doing.
Not to offend anyone reading this but some accents, especially from trainers I’ve watched videos of in the past, can be rather irritating. Adriene however, has a very soft and gentle voice which is actually quite relaxing to listen to.
She really guides you through the practice, which is fantastic for the very beginner such as me. She explains different options of poses depending on your ability so you can really make it your own.
I’ve learnt that breathing is an integral part of yoga. I never knew how much more there was to breathing than what I thought I did naturally. Sometimes breathing actually takes some brain power. As I was so focused on just trying to do some of the poses I did forget to breathe at times but Adriene is always there to remind you to take time to focus on your breath. If you do remember to breath properly it really does help with the rest.
After my first session I was actually quite pleasantly surprised. I felt relaxed, well stretched and kind of at peace with myself. It was different to any exercise I’d ever done, as it’s at such a slow pace, but it was nice.
I wanted to see what else Adriene had to offer. One of her YouTube playlists was 30 days of yoga, so I thought, why not! Let’s go for it and see how I get on. If I don’t like it I can always stop again. So that’s how I began my yoga journey.
30 days of yoga with Adriene
I’d recommend 30 days of yoga to anyone who like me was a complete beginner and had no idea what they were doing. The series of videos take you though 30 days of yoga practice ranging from 10-35 mins. No two days are the same. It guides you through different yoga practices which gives you a great over view of what it’s all about . After this you kinda know if it’s something you’d like to incorporate into your life or not.
Committing to doing 30 days may be hard. Everyone likes a rest day in their week. So however many days you fancy doing yoga a week just follow the videos in order until you’ve done all 30 videos.
I managed to stick with the 30 days even when I didn’t always feel like it. I’m great at coming up with excuses as to why I don’t have time for something, but I knew with this I needed to make the time. Like with any form of exercise consistency is key. If I didn’t do it consistently I don’t think I’d have noticed the benefits as much as I did.
Now let me explain to you the changes I noticed after completing the 30 days. There have been a few….
Flexibility
It had been well know for years how unflexibel I was and flexibility was certainly not in my genes. I was even the least flexible person my rowing coach had ever seen. An accolade i’m actually weirdly proud of. Nice to be the best at something than nothing right?
Anyway, doing yoga is supposed to help with your flexibility. So doing this challenge and consistently doing yoga, I wondered if it would have an affect. If my flexibility didn’t change maybe I’d be beyond help in this department.
At the beginning of the challenge, I really did wonder how some of the poses Adriene was suggesting were even physically possible. Such as when she asks to ‘just’ reach back and grab your foot whilst you’re in a lunge to stretch your quad more. I wasn’t even close. My hand was just swimming in the air reaching for a foot which had barley left the ground. They make these things look so easy!
Guess what though. A couple of weeks into the challenge where she once again asked you to try and reach back and grab your foot if you could, I reached back as usual, but this time, instead of there just being air, my hand was actually met by a foot!!! I have to say I was extremely surprised by this and although it may seem like nothing to you, it was something I’d never been able to do before. I was pretty proud.
Body pains
A few years ago I’d slipped a disc in my back pulling a chicken fence post out of the ground. Since then I’d had pains and sciatica down the left side of my back. If you haven’t suffered from sciatica it’s rather uncomfortable and painful at times. I’d describe it has having 100 pins stuck in one place on your back and the pain shooting down your leg.
What I’ve noticed from doing yoga is how much it has helped my back. By properly stretching and moving my body in a different way to what I was used to my pain went. I don’t know what exactly it did but it worked. I now barely get sciatica and if I do, it’s on days I haven’t done yoga. A 10 minute yoga flow usually sorts that out.
How it’s helped with my running
I always try to make sure I do my yoga after running as a deep stretch so my muscles don’t seize up. I do the same after the rowing I do too. 6 months in and I’ve stayed injury free! You have no idea what an accomplishment this is for me. Hopefully I’m not speaking too soon and I’ll be able to stay injury free until my marathon but only time will tell.
When I say injury free that does not mean I’ve had no aches and pains at all. Of course I’ve had a slight niggle once or twice but that’s nothing really.
Stretching/ yoga can be a bit of a tedious task after a run. You’ve done your workout so you just want to finish, have a shower and relax. Lots of runners neglect their post run routine but it’s so important! It’s not a waste of time to add a 10 minute yoga routine to the end of your run. Trust me and just give it a go. I can almost guarantee you will notice a difference.
Relaxation and stress relief
After a long day at work I’m often stressed and irritable. Try talking to me and you may not get the best response back. Exercise for me is my stress relief. After work is when I usually do my run or row. If I start off in a bad mood, I’m usually fine by the end of my workout. It’s like I’m a new person.
Yoga is the same. By taking time to relax, breathe and focus on my self all my stress just floats away. My whole body has time to relax. I stop thinking about everything else going on in my head and just focus on the moment and what I’m trying to do.
I’m not the only one who experiences the mental benefits of yoga. Something as simple as completing a yoga flow can really change your state of mind. There will be some science behind it but I just know that something happens which makes you feel good and happier. Some even find it changes their life.
Why do it?
Well why not? It only takes 10-30 mins and what better thing would you be doing. I’ve explained the benefits it had for me and it might just do the same for you. Yes it may not be the most exciting thing compared to hurtling down a hill on your bike or sprinting across a finish line but, you can’t do everything at 100 miles an hour. You need to slow down at times to make the most of the faster times.
Where am I at with yoga now?
I haven’t kept up doing yoga everyday but it is still a very important part of my week. I never thought that I’d learn to enjoy yoga and even be something I’d be choosing to do. It was also something which I did think I was physically incapable of doing, which is still true for some poses. However, I can do most poses even it it is with a Rebecca flare. I won’t be doing a headstand anytime soon but maybe with enough practice I’ll get there one day.
Yes my practice is still far from elegant and probably always will be. But does that matter? No. I get a good laugh from some of the things I do and I’m sure anyone watching would too. It’s not about anyone else, it’s about you and how it makes you feel.
It makes me feel great! I feel relaxed, de-stressed and it helps with any aches and pains. I wish I’d have taken time to give yoga a go before. It could have prevented a few injuries I think.
You reading this, yes you. Give yoga a go! You never know you might just like it and it might just be a game changer like it was for me.
Namaste!
Rebecca xx