The Thirty Day Yoga Challenge

I am not a flexible person, at least not physically. Being able to do a split, or even touch my toes without bending my knees to nearly a ninety degree angle, has never been something I've been able to accomplish. Being flexible is the sort of thing that, like being able to play piano or speak Spanish, is the sort of thing I'd like to be able to do, but not enough to actually put in the effort.

Lately, however, my lack of flexibility has become more and more irksome. I have been diving deeper into my training for various ambitious athletic endeavors, including triathlons, obstacle course races, and hopefully someday being on American Ninja Warrior. One thing that has been holding me back is how tight and stiff my muscles are all time. I've tweaked both a calf and a hamstring, injuries that slowed my progress as I had to ease off the gas pedal in order to recover.

As a result, I've come to the conclusion that I need to take my flexibility as seriously as I take my strength and my endurance. The best way to do that, I've concluded, is through yoga.

I still remember the first time I went to a yoga class. My sister dragged me to a class she took, promising that if I wasn't enjoying myself I could leave early. This, apparently, was a baldfaced lie, as I left halfway through the class and she got mad at me afterward. Not the most auspicious start to my practice.

Over the years, however, I have come to appreciate yoga, both for how good it feels to stretch my muscles and the calm, centered feeling it instills in me. The one thing my practice has never been, however, is consistent. I would take a yoga class, enjoy it immensely, promise myself I would go more often, and then not take another one for months. As a result, the impact on my flexibility has been virtually nonexistent. 

Fortunately, in addition to pictures of cats and terrible political opinions, the internet is full of yoga instructional videos. I have found several 20-30 minute videos focused on stretching and flexibility, including ones specifically designed to be done after a run. With all of these resources at my disposal, and with my desperate need to increase my flexibility becoming more and more obvious, I have no excuse not to do yoga.

That's why I'm challenging myself to do yoga for at least twenty minutes, every day, for the next thirty days. I already started today, doing a video after my morning run that felt so good on my sore legs it was practically orgasmic. One day down, twenty-nine to go.

This might not be the best time to do this challenge, since I'm moving in a week and visiting family in Austin a few weeks after that. Still, considering that all I need to do yoga is twenty minutes, a carpeted floor, and internet access, it should be pretty manageable. Hopefully by the end of the thirty days I'll be, if not as flexible as Mr. Fantastic, at least a little more flexible than I am right now.

Are there any yoga videos that you use? If so, let me know!