Curious what happens to your body and mind at the end of a 30 days yoga with Adriene challenge? Check out my journey through Move – 30 days of yoga combined with 30 days of meditation. Plus all the tips I’ve discovered on setting them as healthy daily habits.
The Starting Point
I’d generally say I am an active person.
I work out regularly (picture my boyfriend rolling his eyes at this point 😉 ) yet not very consistently. There are weeks when I work out 3-4 days and others when I don’t at all.
But on an overall large period of time, I am more active than the average Joe I’d say. Sometimes I run, other times I do yoga or pilates.
So here I am this morning, Tuesday, January 11th, on the mat, playing Day 1 of Adrienne’s Yoga Move Challenge. I don’t have a particular goal or resolution to do it every day.
Yet, as I am on my downward-facing dog, (barely keeping the pose) an interesting thought comes to mind: what if I give this a try and TEST what happens after 30 days of yoga (uninterrupted).
I’ve never done this before and I’m a bit afraid since I haven’t worked out at all for the past 3-4 weeks (hello Christmas cakes and sarmale-our traditional Romanian dish).
But I am really curious to see what happens to my body, mind, and mood along the way.
I’ve decided to combine it with a 30-day meditation challenge, something I’ve been thinking about trying for a while.
So this is my test. I’m documenting here the journey, the ups, and (very likely) downs of the coming 30 days.
I love this James Clear speech and one of the key takeouts for me was to take motivation (that dopamine hit) from the process, not the results. So I’ll be using his habit tracker model to keep track of my progress.
30 Days Meditation Challenge
I cannot even begin to tell you how much meditation has helped me over the years. It has been my best friend, psychologist, and a source of calm taking me through some very tough moments of my life.
Yet whenever things are going well, I tend to stop practicing.
We’ve all heard about the amazing benefits of meditation and I was curious to test out what happens when you meditate for a longer period of time. I am referring here to longer than a week or two. Would I see any changes to my mind, my mood after meditating continuously for 30 days?
(Also, Headspace – the app I’m using- has a badge for the 30 days streak and I really wanted to have it. 😀 )
Move – A 30 Days Yoga Journey with Adriene
How did it all start?
In the early days of 2022, one of my friends sent the Day 1 video of Move – a 30 Days Yoga Journey with Adriene on our group chat. She was stating the journey. I thought I’d join in. Why not?
I’ve decided right at that moment not to wait for another Monday, or January 1st, or the planets to get aligned. So here I am, starting out on a TUESDAY! Who cares, as long as I start and keep going.
By the way: I’m not taking any “before” picture of my body, as I’m not doing this to lose weight, or for any esthetic reason. This is all about seeing how my mindset, my mood, and my strength evolve.
Day 1: WOW! 🙂
WOW! I cannot believe the positive impact on my mood! I am feeling cheerful, joyful, and super motivated! I even started writing again, something I’ve been postponing for MONTHS now. (Maybe the sun this morning and the coffee helped a bit too 😉 )
Funny though: I went into the video pretty confident it’s going to be an easy one, perfect to start with after not having worked out for a month. I have been doing Adrienne’s morning flow previous to the winter holidays but 4 weeks of not working out really took their toll haha.
My body felt quite stiff. 5 min into the video and I am barely “hanging” in my downward-facing dog. Not gonna lie, I’ve rested a few times during the video. Am super curious to see how this improves along the way and by which day I can complete a workout without stopping to rest.
One of the things I love most about Adrienne is how she is always saying at the beginning of the class:
“The hardest part is showing up, and you’ve already done that!”
This makes me feel SOOOOO good!!! And it’s true. According to Habits expert James Clear, this is what we should always focus on when trying to set a new habit- optimizing for the beginning.
Getting on that mat is the hardest part. Starting that first sentence of the blog. The rest of 2000 words just keep flowing.
Day 2: Ugh.. :/
I felt quite the opposite of yesterday, quite tired, and didn’t feel like working out at all! Yet I did it anyway!
The body feels less stiff than before the session. No muscle pain from yesterday. It’s more of a stretching session so you don’t really sweat. I was almost able to follow but did rest a couple of times during the workout.
I am very happy I did it despite not feeling like it. Thoughts of “should I do this 30 days nonstop, will it not be too much for my body?” start to appear. But I am committed to keep at it. It’s only 30 minutes a day.
I also know that I’ve stopped in the past, didn’t follow through so this often comes to mind. That I won’t stick with it, that the weekend will come and I’ll drop it, as I’ve done before.
But this time I AM going to stick with it, I can do anything for 30 days. Plus it’s not as demanding physically, and I’m sure it’s good for my body to move as I am sitting most of the day in front of the computer.
Day 3 – 10: We’re getting there..
Day 3: I worked out in my PJ.
Day 4: I worked out even if I didn’t feel like it. I feel a bit lighter, less stiff after yoga but also starting to feel a slight pain in my upper back.
Day 5 completed! 😀 No back pain, yesterday’s pain was gone very quickly.
Day 9 completed! Even though I didn’t quite feel like it.
I did the session in the afternoon as I didn’t feel like it in the morning. I am proud I stuck to the program, proving to myself that I am disciplined.
Most often I work out in whatever house clothes I am wearing (it feels more like a stretching session, so you don’t really sweat). Last year I always changed into my nice alo yoga or lululemon outfits but now I didn’t want the “hassle” of pulling up my tight yoga pants to discourage me from even starting to work out.
I like that the sessions are on average pretty short (25-30 min max) and that helps, as I can always find 20 minutes for myself, to move the body, especially after sitting all day. After every session, I feel lighter and stronger.
Day 10-20 of Move – 30 Days Yoga with Adriene: Oops..
Ok… I am not super proud to admit but I’ve missed a few sessions. It happened on the weekends because I didn’t schedule it properly. I met with friends, then got home and it was too late for a yoga session. (excuses, excuses, I know..)
I am still working out mostly in my house clothes.
Still meditating daily.
Day 20-30: It’s Becoming AWESOME..and a HABIT!
I feel incredible after every session!
My body feels so light and loose and relaxed. I am no longer keeping count as much (in a sense of completing a certain number of days). Now it has transformed into something I want to do (and feels normal to do) every day. Guess the habit has set in! 😀
My favorite part is when I sit down on the mat and am suddenly so proud of myself for showing up. That is indeed the hardest part.
I am also keeping track in a notebook, but surprisingly, the daily checkmark doesn’t bring me as much joy and satisfaction as when I am on the mat after having completed another session. It’s almost like my body is saying “thank you for taking such good care of me”. 🙂
How It’s Going
I am still working out in my regular clothes, skipping the hassle of pulling on the tight sports bra or tights. Much better and faster this way. I am making it super easy for me to work out, the less interference, the better. Sometimes I do like to dress up though, depending on my mood. 🙂
I feel stronger, downward dog doesn’t seem so hard anymore, nor do the planks.
I am already thinking about which videos should I do next, as I want to already have them prepared for when I finish the 30-day move series of Adrienne. Maybe I’ll continue with yoga or maybe I will include some Pilates and running in between. Or maybe I’ll get back to my Chloe Ting workouts. Have a look here at the amazing results they bring.
February 9th: today I reached my 30 days meditation goal and it’s SUCH an incredible feeling!
I am so happy I proved myself I am disciplined and no matter what, I will stick to my goal when it’s super important to me.
You want to know the great thing about all this: not only do I get so much from my daily practice (calmness, awareness, sleeping better) but also it makes me want to continue and reach for the 60 days streak now!
It has transformed after days 20-25 into something I WANT to do every day, rather than pushing myself to do it.
Something Important to Consider
What I have learned during this process is that I need a bit of downtime as well. So after the 30 Days Yoga with Adriene challenge, I will keep Saturdays as the break day. This doesn’t apply to meditation, because I REALLY don’t want to break the streak.
Meditating and moving every day, seeing how I build the discipline muscle stronger and stronger, also gave me ideas and confidence to implement in other parts of my life. For example, I now have a 15 minutes per day writing exercise, so I make sure I put out more content for you guys on a more regular basis. Also, I’ve started learning Dutch again, and this is based on the same method, every day a little bit.
My 7 Best Tips on How to Stick to Your Practice
Hopefully, by now I’ve got you all excited to start your own “Move & meditation” journey. Here are some of my best tips on how to stick to the 30 days of Yoga with Adriene or with meditating:
- combining the activities (habits) makes it easier to stick to them. I go from meditation to move, to write, one after the other.
- optimizing your environment helps: for example, I am laying out my yoga mat before meditating so there will be no excuse not to work out, I just need to sit on the mat as I walk into the living room.
- daily tracking is great to look back and see the progress you’ve made.
- it’s ok to not always be perfect! I skipped several workouts, all in the weekend, but i learned from it. I noticed when I needed a break, to rest. This seems to be the Saturdays for me, when generally I feel I need one day to do “nothing” (like watch movies, read etc), so it carved out in my calendar.
- find the time that works best for you. For me it’s mostly during the mornings but if I have a day full of meetings, I will squeeze the workout during the afternoon.
- you don’t have to start on a Monday, January 1st! Just start, no matter the day of the week and keep going!
- have a plan for when you know you won’t be able to do it. Ex. when you are traveling – does the hotel have a gym or maybe you can pack your yoga mat with you. Or maybe you decide to have a break during your holiday. Whatever it is, it’s good to have a plan.
What I Learned From Meditation and 30 Days Yoga with Adriene
- First of all, I feel amazing after every workout and this keeps me going! It’s such a great form of self love.
- I feel stronger as the days progress
- No special workout clothes needed. PJs or whatever you are wearing is perfectly fine
- Adrienne is sooo sweet and encouraging, it is such a pleaseure to watch to her!
- I love that the meditation sessions and the workouts are pretty short (10-15 min and respectively 20-30 min) so I always can find time within the day to do it
- After a while you’ll want to do it! It’s not a “hassle” anymore, something you have to do, it just becomes your regualr routine. 😀 I am now aiming to reach 90 days meditation and Move 5-6 days a week
- I am a lot more aware of my thoughts during the day. I am able to catch myself lost in tought, let them all go and get back to whatever I was doing (aka mindfulness 😉 )
- Who would’ve thought that I’ll be looking forward to it! We’ve recently traveled to Venice for Valentine’s Day and I’ve interrupted my move sesstion during the trip. You know what the great part was? The first morning back home, I could not wait to get back on my mat and start another session of yoga with Adriene! How amazing is that?! It was a bit tough, not gonna lie (it’s day 29 so the workouts are gettign stronger) but I still love how light my body feels afterwards.
Oh boy, this has been a long one! If you’ve made it this far, thank you! I hope my experience and review of the 30 days yoga with Adriene Move journey has been helpful and maybe inspired you to get on the mat too! Good luck!
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