If you’ve been at the studio lately, you’ve probably heard the buzz about the October 30 Day Challenge!
We all have different reasons to enroll in a challenge like this. For some, the goal is a healthier, happier lifestyle. Others want to take their practice to new heights. Some simply want to see if their body and mind can make it through 30 days in a row.
My personal reason for completing the June 30 Day Challenge was none of the above. I had a real problem: I wasn’t fitting into my wedding dress.
Although the prospect of doing the Bikram series 30 days in a row literally terrified me, I didn’t have the time or money to purchase a new dress. Although I had some serious motivation, I knew that I was going to have to make even more serious sacrifices in order to get to my mat each day.
The first week was the most physically exhausting week of my life. I was so stiff that my postures actually got worse as the week went on. Because of my busy June schedule as a high school teacher, I often found myself pulling up to the studio at 5:45am. Those first early morning classes left little to be desired. Some mornings I found myself almost passing out from the heat and practically crawling my way to the shower.
Yet little by little, my body and my mind adjusted to the rigorous training schedule. I noticed the changes in my appearance after only five days. I looked leaner, my skin became silky soft, and my complexion glowed. My muscles weren’t giving me as much agony, and I began to witness tiny miracles in my postures. At the halfway point, I managed to kick my leg out straight in standing head to knee. By the time I rounded my third week, I was making my first attempts at putting my head to my knee!
Along my journey, I weighed myself periodically, hoping that I had shed those pesky LBs that were coming between me and my dream wedding. Each time I stepped on the scale, however, I was met with disappointment. The scale stubbornly reported the same weight each day. I couldn’t seem to lose even a single pound, and I worried to no end about the seams of my wedding dress ripping while I walked down the aisle.
That all changed when, on the last day of my challenge, I rushed home to step into my unforgiving white gown. To my absolute surprise, the zipper not only went up with ease, but the dress needed to be taken in by two inches. I was in the best shape of my life and I hadn’t lost a single pound.
All the hard work finally paid off!
Besides the obvious physical benefits, the 30 Day Challenge refreshed my understanding of the word priorities. I had made a commitment to my self. Despite all the other things whirling around in my life, I cleared out 1.5 hours every single day. That time was a personal gift of focus and meditation–and my way of acknowledging my own mind/body connection, one breath at a time.
If you have ever wondered about the 30 Day Challenge, now is the perfect opportunity to sign up and see what miracles are waiting for you on the mat!
- Sandra Gin
