Hello! And welcome back to this thirty-day yoga challenge. It’s so great to see you! I’m excited to continue our incredible journey together. Hop into something comfortable and let’s get started.
I know that this yoga challenge began back in May, which was more than two and a half months ago. Look, we all miss a day or two every once in a while—and sometimes we miss whole months at a time. It’s been eleven weeks and you’ve done yoga eight times. But no worries! The important thing is that you’re here today.
We’ll start in a nice, comfortable, seated position. Rest your hands gently on the knees or the thighs as you lengthen up through the spine. Inhale deeply as you show yourself gratitude for coming back to your yoga practice. I know, you got busy with work, and then your parents were visiting from New Jersey, and then the N.B.A. playoffs happened. One day, you carried two boxes of old clothes up from the basement and thought that that basically counted as three days of yoga. It doesn’t, and you’ve still only completed eight days of actual yoga. But what matters is that you showed up here today. I’m so happy to see you.
Notice your breath as you move into tabletop position. Let the breath be your guide as you gently move your hips in a small, clockwise circle. And then the other way, just extending through the palm, the fingers, the wrists, and the arms. Draw your navel up to your spine to lengthen the lower back—or, if that’s too hard, don’t do it. Be kind to yourself. Believe in yourself. The most important thing is to do what feels good for you, even if doing what feels good is a thirty-minute savasana followed by a sixty-six day hiatus.
Now spread the fingertips wide. Go a little wider if you can! Your wrists are underneath your shoulders as you press into the tops of the feet. Feel the flexibility of your lumbar spine as you think about the flexibility of your scheduling, which you do have the option of tightening up. Only if you want—I’m just putting that out there.
Now, plant your palms and walk back to downward-facing dog. You should feel this gently stretching the same muscles that we’ve already worked many times, but if for some reason you’re out of practice you can just skip this step and meet us back in uttanasana. Or, if you’re feeling like you really need a break, you can just skip the uttanasana and rest for a while. Take as long as you need. If taking a break and eating an entire chocolate babka by yourself is what you are feeling right now, you can turn the video off and meet me back here when you’re ready. Your ninety-dollar yoga mat and I will be here, waiting for you to re-start your unique and incredible journey.
Hello! It’s so nice to see you again. If you’re just joining us on day ninety-nine of your thirty-day yoga challenge, I am so happy that you’re back. You’ve still only completed eight and a half sessions, and that babka was a mistake, but what matters is that you take the time to love yourself for who you are. Let’s walk the body out to a plank position. Lower your knees here if you want. Or don’t. Is this too much already? I’d prefer if you didn’t stop to check Twitter right now, but, if you need to take a moment to scroll through your D.M.s, I support you. Even showing up for one single minute of class is valuable.
Oh, wow! Hi there! It’s so nice to see you again on what is now day one hundred and twenty-seven of our month of daily yoga. Who knows—one of us might die before we finish this thing! It will probably be you, though, because I’ve been doing yoga every day.
Now, before you take another break to watch Conan O’Brien clips from the early two-thousands, stick with me here and power through. From downward-facing dog, step into a seated position. Sit up nice and tall here and find your way to stillness. With that, another day of our challenge is complete. What a fulfilling day’s (or days’) practice! Take a moment to appreciate yourself and all that you are worth. I can’t wait to see you again in six weeks ♦