I can’t even believe I’ve stuck it out for three weeks. Truly! But I am very happy that I have because I find that I love it more and more every day. For today’s post, I am going to keep it quite simple since I’ve talked a lot about my journey through my other posts and I want to save my last post for the final summary of this 30-day yoga journey.

As we know, I decided to do a 30-day yoga challenge/journey conducted by Yoga With Adriene’s YouTube channel. Week one was quite the struggle. I was very sore and tense and I could barely touch my toes. Then, week two rolled around and things started to get a little easier but there was still some pain. But within week three I have found that I can stretch and go into positions with ease. I can touch my toes now while also being able to lay my head on my knees. Come on, that’s pretty cool!

A benefit that I encountered from continuous practice during week three was the pains in my back not being as noticeable. The pain from my scoliosis has slowly decreased. Yes, it’ll still come up if I’m slouching for too long but it isn’t a constant pain I’m carrying with me throughout my day. And if nothing else was worth it about doing daily yoga, I definitely feel that that is. My body is a lot less tense and can move without as much pain which is always good!

I talked in my last post about how this week I was going to be focusing more on my breathing and it was funny how Adriene’s videos happened to be more focused on connecting the movements to the breath. It’s like she heard my intention! But I started to work on it and it started to come more naturally. I was able to take in deeper breaths than I have in previous practices just by putting in more awareness and practicing it. And yes, it takes practice to learn how to breathe correctly. Who would’ve thought?

A big part of the experience that I really enjoyed within week three was the ability to quiet my mind a lot easier. I wasn’t focused on anything other than the practice and if anything else came up I knew that the yoga helped bring recognition to those feelings. I also was laughing a lot through my practice and having fun with it. There were even some practices where I was just dancing through it.

There were so many times where I really didn’t want to practice, though. I guess it was something about the thought of taking time for myself to really relax and unwind; some days the thought of yoga felt like a chore. But every single time, without a doubt, I appreciated the practice at the end. I always felt more settled and felt better about myself. Yoga isn’t just something to help work on fitness or flexibility, it truly is about connecting the heart, mind, body, and soul. It’s a process. But with that being said, I can truly feel myself getting stronger through the process. I feel that when you are focusing your energy on taking care of yourself, you’re not even realizing the strength you are gaining from it, mentally and physically.

I definitely would suggest that if you have never done yoga before that you should look into it. You don’t have to be strong, you don’t have to be flexible, you don’t have to have abs (believe it or not), but you do have to have an open mind and the intention of loving yourself completely. One thing that Adriene has been saying in the videos that have really stuck with me is that we arrive on the mat not to discover a new version of ourselves or to become something different but to return back to our most authentic self.  We put in the time to uncover what we’ve been hiding through our insecurities, self-doubts, others’ expectations of us, and hidden feelings. So if anything, don’t just show up to get stronger or to place unreasonable expectations on yourself, show up because you’re ready to finally be who you are with no exceptions.

To anyone who has been reading my blog posts I want you to know that you mean the world to me. It brings me so much happiness to hear your guy’s feedback. I am not only doing this because I love to write but because I want to help others and I want to give all of my knowledge and advice to anyone who ever needs it at any moment in time, even if I am not there beside you. You’re amazing and you can do anything.

Love,

Laurel ❤

{Enjoy this silly little video of me doing at-home yoga}

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