Day One was a good day. It was just like any other day, except it was the first of a commitment to practice yoga every day for 30 days. This is something I have done before, and so I have an idea of what to expect. But one thing I have learned from my personal yoga practice, is to expect the exceptional.

On Day Two, I discovered what is perhaps the best kept secret (although not a secret at all) at Life Yoga… Abigail’s Sunday 4pm Vinyasa Flow class followed by Anne’s Restorative Yoga at 5:30pm. I left the studio with wobbly hips and a goofy smile.

Day Three was Jivamukti! My first Jivamukti class, literally, in years. It was a challenging class. I was feeling stiff from the deep postures the night before, and the quickness of the practice, with all the vinyasas, put a lot of pressure on my back. (I should mention that exactly two years ago tomorrow, I sustained a serious back injury.
I couldn’t walk at all for 4 days, couldn’t walk upright for two months, and then I couldn’t do physical exercise for nearly a year. Doctors told me it would take about two years of physiotherapy before I’d experience minimal pain daily. Well, I beat those odds. I’ve been slowly building my yoga practice back since this past June.) So, anyway, mental note that Jivamukti is a challenging practice, considering my spine.

The real breakthrough came on Day Four with Daria’s Vinyasa Flow. The studio was packed and hot. The energy was buzzing high (at least it was for me). I felt like my old yoga self, the one who wanted to practice every day, the one who felt grounded and balanced and energized because I came to the mat every day. With the first Virabhadrasana 1, I felt a strength in my body that I hadn’t felt since before I broke my back. There was an openness about that practice that felt familiar and brand new at the same time. It was amazing.   

In the first days of this challenge, I’m reminded of the word, abhyasa… the presence of mind to achieve stability and peace through choosing to practice. Abhyasa doesn’t simply mean practicing, it includes the mental state, the attitude of choosing to come to the mat every day in effort to deepen your experience of life. For me, abhyasa has begun. It’s kind of surprising how naturally it happens. 
-Melissa Remark