DAY 30
Well I made it through the 30-day challenge with few bumps and bruises. In fact, I do admit I am better for the wear. Although I fell short of perfection, I can honestly say that I was able to practice yoga on a daily basis, following the principles taught to me by my guru, Sri Yogi Hari, with little deviation. In short, for the past 30 days I have practiced the following...
- Daily pranayama, with prayer and meditation
- Daily asana practice, or exercise
- Daily jivamukti, or scripture study
- Living the principle of karma yoga each day
- Eating a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet.
I cannot say it was easy, but it certainly was not impossible. I often hear from my students that they simply do not have time for yoga every day. What I found is that not only does waking up early allow time for asana practice, but it helps you to have more energy throughout the day -- even if you are sleeping less.
Before beginning this 30-day challenge I typically slept 8 to 8 1/2 hours per night. I often would awake tired and run down, feeling like I had not really slept. (However, I would note that on days I practiced yoga, meditation and pranayama, I always felt better upon waking the following day). Because this challenge necessitated me waking at least an hour earlier than usual, I found that I was only getting at most 7 hours of sleep per night. However, I find that I am now waking on my own each morning, (before my alarm goes off) and I feel refreshed and reguvinated, ready to start the day.
Is this possible with less sleep? With yoga, yes.
One important lesson I learned during this challenge is that although I would say yoga is for everyone, I admit that we are all individuals, with individual needs, including type of diet, level of exercise, time and devotion. Just as we are all individual physical beings, we are also individual spiritual beings (the two being one), and we cannot ignore our spiritual requirements anymore than we can ignore our physical requirements for food and water. That being said, there is no one-size-fits-all method of eating, method of prayer, or even style of exercise.
As for myself, I found that I cannot live the principle of ahimsa without consuming some form of animal protein. Is it my blood type, or my state of evolution, I cannot say. But eating eggs, dairy and the occassional fish seems to quiet some of my chronic health problems and helps me feel more "well-rounded". I discovered that if I deny myself certain types of nutrients, I am harming myself, both mentally and physically. I learned we cannot live ahimsa if we are doing harm to ourselves. This also would include not pushing ourselves during exercise or asana practice, and always listening to the needs of our body.
Beyond that I was able to let go of any guilt associated with eating an egg for breakfast, or not practicing a full hour and a half of asanas because I had a flare-up of tendinitis. Guilt? No, but a deeper appreciation of following my intuition and listening to what my mind, body and spirit need.
As for my readers, I would love to hear from those of you who also completed this challenge.
- What were your initial expectations?
- What were you exerperiences?
- What, in the end, did you learn?
May you be blessed in life as you live yoga each day.
Om Shanti,
Tracey
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