“Today is my 58th day in a row of doing yoga.” That is a statement that I would have bet a lot of money that I would never be able to make, but yet, here I am. It started with a 30 day personal challenge to do yin yoga every day. I found a program online that had a new workout every day that was 20-25 minutes or so long with a 45-55 minute one on Thursdays.
If you’re not familiar with yin yoga, it is a passive practice that involves variations of seated and supine poses typically held for 3 to 5 minutes, accessing deeper layers of fascia. While seemingly easy as there aren’t technically a lot of moves during the practice, there is an intensity to the sensations both mentally and physically. The goal is to sink into the pose and allow the opening of your hips and upper back.
I do a lot of sports (martial arts, skiing, stand up paddle boarding etc) and over the years my knees have started to be sore on a daily basis. I realized that, much like what we talk about in active care, flexibility is something that I needed to focus on. I do foam rolling and stretching regularly, but knew that I needed to take it to the next level.
I realized that in life, you don’t “find” time to do something, you have to “make” time to do it. This meant getting up early on the day that the staff was doing an evening Casco Bay cruise to get in my workout in the morning. This meant doing my 20 minute yoga at 11pm after driving home from dinner in Ogunquit. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always worth it.
At the end of the 30 days, I realized that I felt a lot better and was noticing a lot of improvement…..so I recommitted to hitting 60 days. Odds are good that I’ll bump this to 90 once I hit that goal. I’ve now added back in strength training and notice that I feel so much better and that my movements are more fluid.
What’s your next goal? How about making a personal 30 day challenge and see where it takes you!
- Dr. Cait
