Tomorrow I’m committed to begin the 40 Day Challenge with Yama Yoga Studios: 40 days of Practice for Personal Renewal and Transformation. But before committing to anything, it’s crucial to get clear on the purpose behind it.  The intention.

I practice my yoga a lot, but more specifically I practice yoga asanas (or postures) almost every day.  It wasn’t always this way but now that I teach yoga I spend time on the mat preparing for classes and I try to make time for my own personal practice as well.  Between the two I usually step on the mat at least once each day.  But that’s not every day.  I haven’t practiced every day for any set time period.

And I think there’s something …… to the every-day-ness of habits.

Do I eat every day?  Absolutely!  Do I wash everyday? Yes.  Do I read every day?  For me, that is another absolute.  Do I work, play, laugh, smile everyday?  Do I pray?  Am I grateful for something every day? Or do I complain?  Am I caught in the one-upmanship of others every day?  Am I kind and generous?  Or full of spite and resentment?

I believe we become what we think, say and do.

Do you ever stop to notice your daily thoughts, words and habits or are you unaware of what it is you’re doing or thinking throughout most of the day?  If these are on a positive note, life might be working just fine for you.  If they’re mostly leaning toward the negative it might not be going as well and may beworth examining a little closer.

What does any of this have to do with yoga and the Challenge?

I can’t say for sure…. but I have a hunch if I can do this for the 40 days, it just might change into something I don’t even have to think about any more.  Stop it from feeling like one more item on my to-do list. To become as natural and normal as brushing my teeth.  Or eating toast every morning. Maybe through this daily yoga practice, I improve awareness around my other habits. Whether they are working for me.  Or not.  Who knows what else might happen along the way?

40 days seems like a long time.  I’m uncertain in my ability to see it through, unsure of what might come up and get in the way.  What tends to work best for me with stick-to-it-ivness are two things: One, writing about it as helps me check in with how its going and what I’m experiencing.  The second, is writing about it as that way I’m held accountable, publicly.  So, my plan is to post here every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday throughout the 40 Days.  (Is that now 2 commitments I’ve made over the next 40 days…..???)

• Will you join me and commit to the Challenge ?
• How will you prepare to meet the 40 Day Challenge?

Stay tuned for May 1st……

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.  If we’re all in it together we can look to share, support and inspire each other along the way.