31 Day Yoga Project: Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana

Two challenges in one month?

Yes. I have officially lost my mind.

One of my go-to places on the web if I have questions about most things yoga related is Yoga by Candace. The videos she does on YouTube are easy to follow and the info she posts on her website/blog on various poses, sequences, etc. are extremely helpful.

So I was really excited when she posted that during the month of January, she was hosting a 31 day yoga project and this months "theme" is Strength. As she puts it on her blog:

That's right people, we are looking to get strong. Why? 
For so many reasons. Let me count the ways. 
building strength may help to prevent injury
building core strength may alleviate minor back pain and sciatica
building upper body and core strength may improve your posture
building strength may burn fat, if you're looking to tone up
building strength may fuel the progress in our practice

Here is the Deal:
--Pick one strength pose to work on: As much as I'd like to dive right in and try to master baby grasshopper, I'm not sure that is wise. Instead I'll be working on Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana or Standing Big Toe Yoga pose. Seems simple, right? But oh how I wish it was! It's a favorite pose of the instructor who teaches the yoga class I take on Sundays and dammit if I don't always have to hold onto the wall OR put my foot on a ledge every stinkin' time we do it.
--Make a Plan: Thankfully this is going to be the easiest part of the whole thing! I've already committed to myself to practice yoga daily, so this won't be to hard to do! I just need to find sequences that will help build my core strength and work on my flexibility and plan on practicing for 30-60 mins 5 times a week. The other two days will be gentle flow.

I'm really looking forward to taking on this "project" and using it as a way to really focus on my strength and flexibility. 

30 Day Challenge: The Plank

Riiiight......

Remember when I said I was really excited about the 30 Day Squat Challenge? Well, it kind of crashed and burned in the first week.

Awesome.

The problem....well....I guess it wasn't much of a problem....is that I was already doing that many squats per session as it was making it anything BUT a challenge.

Yes, but the end of all the squats my legs were shaky, my butt hurt and my quads hated me, but since it was already part of my regular workout (thanks to D's phone-a-friend workouts) I bailed from the "program" relatively early.

But, this month we are going to try it again. And this time, we are going with an exercise I loath....

The dreaded plank.

I really hate doing them. But I know they are good for working the entire body so I'm going to suck it up and get through it. I'm just going to need to convince myself that I shouldn't look too far ahead on the "schedule" to see how long I need to hold one for.

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Drop it Like a Squat

I'd thought about doing some big long intro about why I decided to start this blog, what I wanted this space to be and blah, blah, blah.

But we'll get there. There are still bits of that story I am trying to give a voice to. And when that time comes, then I'll be happy to share what prompted this journey.

Until then, we're just going to dive right in.

I've always been leery of those monthly exercise challenges.

I don't know why.

They are kind of a great way to kick start a little competition with yourself to motivate yourself to try something new. And honestly, sometimes it is just easier to not have to think about what needs to be done and have that "plan" already done for you.

Now that I'm working out on my own (oh the sadness of no longer be working with D) each month I'm going to commit to one of these monthly challenges. Just to see what it is all about.

One of the things I learned while working with my trainer is that I LOVE squats. Ridiculous, I know. But I could do them until the cows come home. Regular squats. Split squats. Jumping split squats. LOVE THEM.

For the month of December I'm going to be doing the a Squat Circuit Challenge. Starting tomorrow, I'll be working my way to 4 weeks to 200 squats! I have a feeling that on day 30 I'm going to wish I never decided to do this challenge, but we'll see. I'm always a big fan of proving myself wrong!

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