Reflections on week 2 - 30-day challenge

Day 12. It's been going swell so far. It hasn't been tough finding the time for the daily practice but the cross-training has really had to be minimized. Less core, less strength training, less running. It's tough to balance it all but my focus this month is getting to the mat daily, practicing my yoga off the mat (including not being hard on myself for not doing it all), and cross-training when I can as it makes me happy and is part of my life as well.

Day 8 was pretty emotional in practice for me. Even riding in in the morning, I thought a lot about the death of Jenna Morrison. Jenna, an important part of the Toronto yoga community, wife, mother, was killed by a truck while she was riding her bicycle. I felt pretty shaken and dedicated my practice to Jenna, her loved ones, and especially for her son Lucas. The outpour of support for Jenna and her family has been, and continues to be, so strong. The sense of community and the light that Jenna brought to it can really be felt. Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo.

I've been extra prudent on the ol' bicyclette these days myself and because of this, missed my day 10 class by 10 minutes.... but I didn't fret about it too much. Instead of doing a home practice, I decided to do a make up class on day 11 and not be judgmental about it. After all, my intention to get to the mat was there. And I didn't want to turn my efforts into a negative experience.

Two of my favourite things... Lulu proposal flowers and Moksha Danforth.

When I did my make up class on day 11, it was really interesting to see  how one day off during this challenge makes a difference to how your spine responds to the mat when you first get to class. Granted, my make-up class was at 6:30am so there's a whole different body dynamic at that time of day, but it made me have a really great, 70% effort practice to slowly allow movement into my body. A patient practice. Lovely. (My second class of day 11 was a 90-minute yin. Speaking of patience... ;) But I must say, what a difference yin makes on my body! Take note runners).

Off to teach and practice in Stratford this weekend for classes 12 and 13. Looking forward to sharing new sweat, energy, and breath with the Stratford sangha!