The Hidden Challenges of ‘Doing a Challenge’

The guidelines on our site give advice on how to prepare for a YM Challenge… ‘ensure work is not going to make extra demands on you… plan your social life accordingly…’ etc.

You have got passed all the pseudo reasons for not doing a Challenge, gave everyone close to you a heads up and you promptly turned up on your mat.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy? Well. That’s all very well now isn’t it. If only life were so simple :).

As much as you can’t plan how your usual Yoga class will pan out, life has a funny way of kicking in or upping the ante just when you need your routine to run smoothly. Say for instance ‘on a YM Yoga Challenge’. Family, work, social life they will continue as normal around you whilst you knuckle down to your extra Yoga effort and sometimes they will intrude on your plans. And then there is the laundry! Mountains of it, towels, sopping Yoga clothes, wet mats and there’s no drying weather. And then there’s the Traffic: you’re coming from the west and part of The Avenue is closed, horrendous backlogs and driving conditions more dangerous in these dark wet nights. Rush rush to get to class on time. All that SWEAT to deal with! Then after class, rush rush to get home (please drive safely folks). Staying on top of hydration: ALL THAT WATER. Still dinners must be made, bills must be paid, children must be fed, colleagues’ needs must, the world turns… The demands are so much more than the actual time and effort spent on the mat.

Make no mistake. This IS demanding. Every challenger who turns up on their mat each class I SALUTE YOU. No-one will know what it took for you to get to your class today. You pushed through a lot of stuff and reasons just so you could work your butt off for 90 minutes in a SUPER hot room. To those not in the know, this sounds like a form of madness. By day 4 you might be thinking the same thing! Lord help the guy on day 18 🙂

It’s called a ‘Challenge’ for a very good reason. It is not just about the 90 minutes; it’s ALL tough. This is not a post telling you the secret of how you can overcome these challenges. You already know the only thing you need to see this journey through is COMMITMENT. And you’ve clearly got that in spades.

THANK YOU for choosing to demonstrate your commitment to something you love in YM and for taking us on the journey with you.

Om Om Om EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED