Daily Yoga Practice for a Year – Reaping Rewards

*Before taking part in any exercise regimen, check with your physician to be certain that it is safe for you.

A year of daily yoga? It sounds like such an unattainable goal, yet here I am, at the end of the year. I’m more than a little stunned that I’ve been able to do this, but the payoff has been HUGE.

First, let me explain a few things.

#1. I am NOT a fitness geek. At all. In fact, I am happiest when I am sitting in my comfy recliner, working on a project, and binge-watching something on Netflix. My exercise happens because I know it is good and necessary for health and mobility.

#2. I am NOT a yoga geek. I’m not one of those people who waxes eloquent about this pose or that pose. Frankly, the only way this worked for me was the fact that I could do it in the privacy of my own home with no one to see my jiggly bits in compromising positions.

#3. I am NOT a skinny thing. Menopause belly is real. COVID has not been kind to my waistline.  I am comfort eating in place of seeing people I love and going places that give me energy. I’m going to make an effort to change this in 2021, but let’s just say I don’t look awesome in my yoga pants.

How did I get into the daily yoga practice?

Two years ago, I had a back injury that left me with reduced mobility and sensation in my left knee. Physical Therapy was helping me to make modest improvements, but I had a hard time carving out space in my life for daily PT exercises. But I really wanted to get back to the things I love: training for long-distance pilgrimage walks in interesting places, being first on the list.

YouTube and Adriene to the rescue!

I went on YouTube and searched “Yoga for back problems” in hopes that I could find something that was less boring than PT exercises. I discovered the doyenne of the online yoga world: Adriene Mishler and her online empire of mostly free videos of yoga workouts.

How to describe Adriene… she is cute and perky without being annoying. She is unfailingly supportive and encourages each participant to “find what feels good.” She is a skilled teacher who helps beginners to create a well-informed foundation upon which to build a home yoga practice. She encourages modifications to make the poses accessible to most. The NYT published a great article on her yoga empire that you can check out here.

At first, I just added the videos to my PT exercises a few times a week. I soon discovered that most of my PT exercises were built into the poses she lined up each day. Before long, I was integrating my PT smoothly into her routines. My mobility and strength improved quickly. I felt like I was finally breaking out of the plateau I had been in with my 3-days-a-week gym routine.

And then COVID hit.

Exercise in the time of COVID

My wife and I quickly came to the conclusion that going to the gym and trying to work out with masks on in a place that didn’t feel safe was out of the question. We let our gym membership go. My wife (who is MUCH more fit than I am) started doing online classes with Orange Theory, but that ass-kicking pace is not for me. I discovered Adriene’s yearly 30-day yoga programs from the past five years. Daily yoga? Can I really do this? I decided to commit to one 30-day program and see how I would do. I chose the one entitled “Home” and got to work.

Making Daily Yoga Happen

I am NOT a morning person. But I know full well that if I don’t exercise in the morning before my shower, it just isn’t happening. Yoga with Adriene videos last between 18 and 40 minutes on average. I soon discovered that if I wanted to keep my mornings from feeling rushed, I needed a little earlier start. We were both working from home and had been luxuriating a bit in sleeping a little later. I rolled back my wake-up time just half an hour.

After breakfast, I head into the living room to check in with Adriene. I started out with my old yoga mat, but soon discovered that my aging knees don’t like tabletop position, so I ordered a kneeling pad. The only other purchase I made was a pair of yoga blocks which helped me to find stability in some poses. Otherwise, this venture was costing me nothing.

After yoga, I usually feel pretty energized and ready to start my day. It wasn’t until spring that I noticed that my yard work was leaving me less sore than before. I had a better range of motion, and when I did overdo it, I recovered much more quickly. There was nothing else to attribute it to – it had to be yoga. When I finished the first 30-day program, I immediately started a second one – this one was called “True”.

Daily Yoga Past the First 30 Days

As 2020 dragged on, I worked my way through all of Adriene’s 30-day programs. I revisited ones that I had particularly liked. I started “doing my own thing” – creating 20-40 minute workouts that combined aspects of the yoga practices Adriene had shared. I started paying attention to which parts of my body needed a little extra love and stretching. And my body’s pain levels continued to drop. My mobility kept improving.

Did I REALLY do it EVERY DAY?

I missed 5 days total. I give you my solemn word on this, because frankly, it amazes me. Once I realized how much it was helping so many parts of my body, my health, my life – I made it a priority. I do yoga when we are on vacation. I do yoga when I don’t feel well. I simply change it up to allow for a more restful practice on the days when I’m moving a little more slowly. I make the practice serve ME, rather than feeling like a slave to IT. Yoga has made it easier for me to do my work. It has helped me to move through some very difficult subjects that have come up in therapy. Paying attention to my breath has been crucial in surviving the anxiety of this COVID-tide.

And so, this Couch Slug wants to share a few of the things I have learned along the way in hopes that it might give you a boost to start your own daily yoga practice.

Tips For Making Daily Yoga a Part of Your Daily Life

1. Make a small commitment that will be reviewed at the end of the period. The 30-day programs are perfect to get you into the rhythm of daily practice. Oh, and Adriene is starting a new one with the new year. It’s called “Breath” and you can read about it here. At the end of the 30 days, take stock of how you feel. If you are riding a wave of better flexibility, stress reduction, and faster recovery, keep it going!
2. Put on the clothes. I get out of bed in the morning and immediately put on my yoga clothes. This gives my sleepy brain the message: yoga comes NEXT. This simple act keeps me focused on the time I have carved out to take care of myself. And you don't need anything fancy - just comfy.
3. Carve out the time. I decided that I would get up just 30 minutes earlier. It only hurt for a few days. And I am totally worth this little bit of time. That’s just one episode of Schitt’s Creek less the night before.
4. Don’t skimp on the relaxation postures. If you are of the “no pain, no gain” school of thought, it’s all too easy to skip the resting poses at the end of the practice. They are both the reward and the key to integrating the work into the entire body. We spend far too little time resting with intention, especially when a long list of to-do’s is screaming at us. You have time to lie still for five breaths.
5. Ask for accountability if you need it. Start this journey with a friend and check in after your practice. It’s way more fun to be able to bitch about how long you had to hold boat pose with a friend.
6. Try to resist an all-or-nothing mindset. If you have a tight schedule and can only manage 10 minutes, then grab those ten minutes and make them count!
7. Don’t ignore your comfort. Use blocks, pillows or other props to make poses more comfortable. Don’t worry if what you are doing doesn’t look exactly like the video. Breathe more deeply if it’s a little uncomfortable. Modify the pose if it’s a lot uncomfortable.
8. Redefine recovery days. Since this is a daily practice, recovery is built into the system. Adriene does a good job of this, but if you are having a low-energy day, don’t hesitate to pull up one of the shorter recovery videos in place of what’s scheduled next. This is YOUR practice. It’s happening in YOUR home. YOU call the shots. Take what you need and leave the rest.

It has been empowering to care for myself deeply through yoga on a daily basis. I hope that yoga can be a tool for strength, flexibility, stress management, and healing for you in 2021.

Happy New Year!

Blessings,