Day 21 - Self Love

Day 21 - Self Love #yogagirlchallenge
Practice - DVD: Elements of Air and Water Flow
Length - 1 hour 10 minutes
Meditation - 10 minutes

Today’s theme is to take a moment and celebrate just how awesome you are.  Since I really did not want to give up my sugar-free choice quite yet, I decided to reward myself by going to the beach at night even though ice cream may have been the first thought that went through my head.  I love walking on the beach at night with the moon overhead, the sound of the waves crashing upon the shore, and the feeling of solitude as I swim beneath the stars.  And as much as I love doing this, I do not do it enough.

Progress:

It has been quite the journey and honestly I am going to miss these daily challenges. The challenge itself went by way too fast, but I’m happy to see all I’ve accomplished in this timeframe.

Yoga Every Damn Day - I managed to not miss a day of yoga and I will continue to practice every day from now on.

Meditate - Meditation, from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, is a great way to end my yoga sessions. I plan on continuing to do this every day as well.

Rise and Shine - Still getting up early. It’s nice to have a little extra time in the morning and since it seems to want to be super humid and hot this first week of September, I may start getting up even earlier to get in my workout in the morning while it is somewhat cool out.

Get Rid of a Bad Habit – Still sugar free! I think this is the thing I am most proud of.

Start a New Routine – Well, I may have missed a couple of day of writing my story, but I always wrote in this blog. So far I’ve written 56 pages of a story, which is turning into a novel or maybe a novella depending on where it takes me. I’m having fun with it and that’s all that matters. I was also thinking of continuing this blog and making it just a focus on positivity as well as my daily yoga practices.

Be Fearless – I haven’t managed a handstand yet, but I did get half way up today. I’ll have to get my husband to take a picture of it when I finally do manage it!

Day 20 - Something New

Day 20 - Something New #yogagirlchallenge
Practice: DVD: Yoga Shakti
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes
Meditation: 10 minutes

I wanted to embrace the idea of trying new things all day. So, I started out my day with a yoga DVD I've owned for a while but never actually tried. Sadly, it was still wrapped in plastic; never used. I found that I enjoyed the practice and it added challenges that my regular routine and DVDs did not have. I defiantly have very tight hips in which adding this DVD to my schedule could help with.

I got a little silly and decided to try a new hair style today as well. I ended up braiding all of my hair into small braids (10 to 12 braids total; I didn't count) and included some clip in bright blue and purple hair extensions! I really liked the look and it reminded me of being in high school when I'd dye my hair purple, blue, or sometimes green.

Next, I went to the craft store and picked up a canvas. I love drawing in black in white or with colored pencils and occasionally use oil pastels, but I never, ever paint. Today, I finally used my acrylic paint set and painting brushes and started to work on a painting of a fox. I found I enjoyed the change and may have to paint more in the future to improve my technique! I at least, will have to finish the painting another day this week and am looking forward to it.

Lastly, I went to meet my friend for tea at a local cafe. It was really nice catching up with her and I think it may have been over a year since just the two of us hung out and talked. I enjoyed her company and hope to spend more time with her in the future. I was going to try a new recipe for dinner tonight, but that's not going to happen as I spent far longer at the cafe with my friend than I thought I would, but that's just how great of a time I had!