Yoga

All pictures are from the Instagram account yogainspiration

As mentioned in my 2015 goals blog, I am doing a 30 day yoga challenge. I did day 23 today, and I'm really enjoying it! Erin (the woman in the videos) made this challenge a few years ago, so no one is able to suggest anything now, but she took suggestions from the people watching them at the time and catered the videos to what people wanted. There is so much variety and it is nice to have something new to look forward to each day.

I can't do quite a bit in the videos, but I have other things I've learned that I can do until she goes back to something I can do. I'm decent at the stretchy part of yoga - not really the poses part of yoga. Either way, I feel so much better, and I really enjoy doing yoga every day.

I found this website that lists 38 health benefits of yoga. Here are some that have happened to me since I started:

• Improves your flexibility

I wasn't very flexible before, and I'm probably not very flexible now, but I sure do feel like I am! I noticed this within the first 10 days of starting yoga. I can now get deeper into the stretches and it feels so much better.

• Makes you happier

It sounds silly, but it's so true! I think it has a lot to do with seeing results after such a short period of time, but I really do feel happier now that I'm doing yoga every day.

• Relaxes your system

Oh my word. After day 1 of this yoga challenge, I felt like an entirely new Jen. I've talked before about my insomnia, but this helped SO much. After the first video, I was in bed for 13 hours! I definitely didn't sleep the entire time (how great would that have been?), but I can't even remember the last time I felt that good. Now, I was super sore when I finally got out of bed, but just the fact that I was able to rest for that long was amazing.

• Increases your self-esteem

Even on the days where I don't like the yoga video or didn't feel like it helped me, I feel better because I know I tried. I have also talked about my self confidence issues, and I feel better about myself knowing that I'm trying.

•  Eases your pain

I have lower back pain because of my weight. I would guess that I carry about 85%-95% of my fat in my stomach, so it puts a lot of pressure on my back. Within the first week, I felt that pressure go away. Not completely, but it definitely doesn't hurt to lay on the floor anymore.

I am so incredibly happy I have started consistently doing yoga. I encourage you to try yoga and see if you feel better. I'm not trying to say it's a cure-all, but who knows how much better you can potentially feel after taking just 15-20 minutes out of your day to pamper yourself.

If you have done yoga before, have you tried any of the different types besides traditional? I would LOVE to try aerial yoga, but I don't think I'd be able to do it. It looks absolutely terrifying, and I know my adrenaline would be pumping like crazy (I'm not an adrenaline junkie). I'm getting nervous just thinking about trying it haha.

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know! I would love to talk to you about anything :)

XOXO

Jen