Jen's 30-Day Yoga Challenge

Congratulations!

Dear Jen,

Congratulations on completing your Yoga Challenge! Great job on raising $378 for the foster home! The D.C. yoga community has raised over $11,000 so far, and we are still going! Please keep asking friends and family to contribute to your Yoga Challenge project. Be sure to check back for updates from South Africa on the construction of the foster home as well.

Now that your 30 days of yoga are over, tell us what your Yoga Challenge experience was like! Were you able to do 30 days of yoga? What were your favorite studios?

We hope you had a great Yoga Challenge experience and will partner with Citizen Effect again in the future!

Namaste,
Annie and the rest of the Citizen Effect Team

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Practice Calendar

Here is my practice calendar for the challenge. There was a lot of home practice using tools such as Yoga Journal, Desikachar's Heart of Yoga, and Jon Kabat-Zinn's Yoga and Meditation CD. I used the opportunity to try different studios and teachers. From Studio DC's new space in Dupont Circle to Yoga District on 14th St., each studio has a unique and welcoming culture and environment.

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My Teacher, Crow

I began this 30-Day Challenge by taking my friend, Kellee Charles' Hot Power Yoga class. I thought it appropriate that I take her class again at the end of the challenge. My progress in arm balances turned out to be a good gauge of progress for my practice.

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Last Push

I thought my challenge ended yesterday, June 30th. It turns out I have until Tuesday, Aug. 3 to complete my challenge. This makes me happy because I have come to enjoy and depend on practicing yoga everyday. I need a few days to sort out the direction of my practice from here. Of course, I am also happy for a few more days to raise funds for these kids in South Africa.

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Yoga of Convalescence

As I write this, my body temperature is 100, which I think is lower than it was during the night. This hit me quite suddenly. It may have been something I ate. It could have been from getting soaking to my underwear by a rainstorm between the temperature extremes of a hot yoga class and a client's refrigerated fitness room. By the time I got home nausea overtook me, then fever and body pain. That was last night.

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What the !*&# Is Yoga Anyway?

Part of the challenge of practicing yoga for 30 days is to understand that yoga is much more than physical exercises. Eventually the question arises--If the practice of asanas is only one of 8 limbs of Yoga, then what is Yoga? I look to T.K.V. Desikachar's The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice for some clarity.

Sri Desikachar continues the work of his father, Sri Krishnamacharya, who is considered the father of modern yoga. Some of Krishnamacharya's other students, including B.K.S. Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois, have become renowned teachers in their own right. Krishnamacharya focused on the therapeutic value of yoga and the relationship of teacher and student.

According to Desikachar, there can be many definitions of Yoga. In fact, Yoga itself "is one of the six systems of Indian thought collectively known ad darsana...Darsana means 'sight,' 'view,' 'point of view,' or even 'a certain way of seeing.' " Yoga becomes a way to look within oneself.

Yoga can mean "to come together" or "to tie the strands of the mind together." We come together with the practice of yoga physically, which allows us to direct the mind to the practice. The strands of the mind come together as we set an "intention." This sets a course for the practice.

Another definition of Yoga is "to attain what was previously unattainable." This is certainly most obviously manifested in the practice of asanas. We were once unable to perform a particular posture. Then, one day we pop into it as if we had always done so. This can be seductive and ephemeral. Today we can accomplish this pose, so we congratulate ourselves. The next day, we are different and cannot find what we had yesterday. The practice then becomes to stay free of attachment.

Seeing Yoga in yet another way, it is "acting in such a way that our attention is directed toward the activity in which we are currently engaged." "Be Here Now," as Ram Dass titled his book. In this case, we can practice yoga whenever and wherever we are. Towards the end of The Heart of Yoga in Desikachar's translation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, Yoga is defined as "the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions." Staying engaged in a conversation, working on a project, or eating a meal can become yoga.

Finally Desikachar mentions Yoga as "to be with the divine." He says that may mean "God, Allah, Isvara or whatever--anything that brings us closer to understanding that there is a power higher and greater than ourselves..." He goes on to speak about finding harmony with this power.

This study has been for me the greatest gift of this 30-Day Challenge. I have practiced asanas, pranayama and meditation off-and-on since I was 17 years old. I have even read Desikachar's words before, but this challenge has given me new understanding. I feel more present with this knowledge. In this way, I have attained what was previously unattainable for me.

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The WHY

As I write this, I am on my 23rd day of practicing yoga, yet I am far from my fund raising goal of $450. This brings up the question of which is more important, the yoga practice or the cause. As the deadline quickly approaches, my focus has shifted from "How am I going to fit in yoga everyday for 30 days?" to "How can I raise $300 in the 8 days that remain in the challege?"

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Thunder Meditation

Continuing my week of trying new yoga experiences, I attended a meditation class at Yoga District. This 95-minute meditation class was based on the Dharma Punx practice founded by Noah Levine. Just before I left my apartment for class, I noticed rain so I grabbed my humungous golf umbrella. I made it into the studio just before a massive thunderstorm overtook the neighborhood.

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Exploring the Kundalini

Last week, I set my intention to try new yoga experiences, so I went to a different studio. Yoga District has with three locations in the Dupont, U Street and Bloomingdale neighborhoods. Proceeds from their classes fund YogaActivist.org, "providing free yoga to homeless shelter residents, trauma survivors, children at public schools, and youth in detention."

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Discovering Peacocks

This past week, I really enjoyed practicing on my own at home. Though there are so many benefits in taking class, I sometimes find myself working hard to translate an instructor's directions or to take on their rhythm. That external focus draws me out of the full experience of the practice.

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Great job Jen!

Only 7 days ago you took on the 30 Day Yoga Challenge and you have already raised 11% of your target pledge goal, amazing job on those warrior poses Jen, keep them up! We have loved hearing about your personal yoga challenge adventures, from strengthening your core on the balcony to finding peace in fantastic studios.

Namaste,

Annie and The Citizen Effect Team

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Home Practice

Over the Independence Day weekend, I took advantage of my balcony for some home practice. Little did I know I had company.

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Day One: Hot Power Yoga

So the 30-Day Yoga Challenge began yesterday. Last night, I chose to practice with my friend, Kellee Charles. Kellee teaches a Hot Power Yoga class at Stroga in Adams Morgan. I love taking class with Kellee. Even if she is adjusting someone across the oom, she has a way of connecting with everyone else in the room.

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Diving In

Ok, after reading Welcome Om's call to action regarding the 30-day yoga challenge to raise funds for Cloetesville, South Africa, I decided to dive on in.

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