Last year, my good friend, Holly, and I began documenting our yoga journey by participating in Yoga Pose Challenges. She encouraged me to create my own yoga pose challenge to share with everyone. So, we began the yoga pose challenge fun! Beginning in January, we've journeyed through many different types of challeges - #TwistAndBind, #OpenHeart, #BalanceBravely, #HappyHips, #MightyInMay, #LovelyLegs, #FeelingFree, #AwesomeArms, #LovingLife, #BeTheLight, #GivingGrace and now #DaringDecember.
Thank you very much to Abilene D1 Sports Complex for allowing me to take my pictures at the facility. Each day people enter D1 daring to be better - in better shape, doing better in competitions, better at reaching personal goals. My husband, and photographer, Kenan, began a journey of strength and endurance there, and sees lots of people daring to be better each day at this complex. The words behind each photo, "Iron Sharpens Iron", builds and energy of teamwork and encouragement. We can all be a better version of ourselves, and being in a community to support our goals is an excellent way to find success! I feel our yoga community in Abilene offers a lot of support and help to encourage each of us through our yoga journey.
Each year, I think of different yoga poses it would be fun to accomplish. I have pictures of those poses up where I see them each day. One of them has been in several of the challenges this year - Handstand. I've always had confidence in this challenging pose with a wall in my reach, but in making an effort - almost every day - to lift up into this pose at least one time, I'm beginning to find stability. No, it's not every attempt I find success, but it's more often than it has been. And, finding that "catch" in my abdominals and shoulder girdle has been exhilarating! Even though it's not clearly visible in the picture for December (Day 24) - there was no wall to catch me! It's scary knowing there's a floor waiting for you if things don't go well!
Even though there are an abundance of difficult poses this month, I will be posting several options for each day's challenge pose. All I'm asking is you take my Dare! For all of you that tell me (and those around me) that you are trying out each day's pose - I dare you to document it! Take a pic and share it with me! It would be so fun to see all of your poses in the comments under my post for each day - or just added to the wall of my fb page - OR for you to share with all of your friends on fb or ig, but be sure to tag me so I can see them! However, if you're not ready to share your poses with social media, you're more than welcome to message them to me. I promise you not every pose is friendly to everyone's body type. There have been many unflattering pics that I've posted - or had my husband retake for the calendar - and that's ok! No one I know is perfect, and no one expects perfection from any of our pictures. We are all on a fun yoga journey, and it's amazing to see differences - and feel the differences - in poses as we move along!
To encourage you to take the Dare and Share your pictures, my sweet friend, Holly, has made some beutiful jewelry for the person that wins the #DaringDecember prize! To be entered to win, share the December Challenge Pic on your social media and let everyone know you are participating! Then, each day post your pose of the day! For this month, we may all look completely DIFFERENT everyday - and that is PERFECT! I want to see YOUR pose for that day! I promise you, there are poses in this month's challenge I couldn't do even last month! You are welcome to take all of your pictures at once - and if you attend my classes, I love to help take your pictures! If you would like options of another variation than what is seen on the calendar before I've posted options for that day, you're welcome to message and ask me!
Even though I love seeing all of your pictures, and this is a yoga pose challenge - Yoga is not a competition! All of us are made differently! I have long legs, so even though we may be doing the exact same pose, it will look different. And, different is good! Life would be boring if we all looked the same! I've seen your pictures where you are doing the pose much more effortlessly than I did - and that makes me excited to see your AWESOME pictures!
***** The cooler weather does affect how our body feels each day. Doing a hamstring stretch or a backbend first thing in the morning - or before warming up the body - may not feel the best on our bodies. So, specifically for this challenge, be sure to warm up your body before attempting the challenge pose. For my yoga friends, do a few sun salutations; for my runner friends, try the pose after your run - or choose anything you feel good about to build heat and relax the part of the body that is focused on in the pose.*****
This will be a #DaringDecember for all of us! And, during our meditation on the last day of the challenge, we can -
Reflect on our braveness and growth in the challenges we've attempted this year
Envision personal challenge poses to work towards
Relish in the blessings of being able to wake up each day and participate in yoga
Breathe in the peace we've created in our yoga journey
Seek knowlege for the coming year
Thank you all for participating in my yoga pose challenges! I've had so much fun this year posing and posting each day! I'm welcome to any suggestions of poses or areas of the body you'd like to focus on for your body in future challenges. **In fact, several of the poses for this month came from you telling me the challenge pose you're working on.**
My yoga journey would be so much less fun without all of you having fun with me! After many yoga classes I've said, "Thank you for playing with me." Yoga is a playground to find energy, release, relaxation, peace and calm. I LOVE YOGA - and I love seeing all of you find breakthroughs in poses you have been reaching towards!!! It truly fills my heart with JOY knowing I get to be a part of your journey.
The Light in Me Sees the Light in You - Namaste