"Never in a Millions Years did I Think..."

40 Days with of Renewal:
My experience to yoga, meditation, and mindful eating prior to the program was pretty scattered and very much independent of each other.  I have been doing yoga for several years but it was primarily a social thing with friends.  And it wasn’t power yoga; that  was too hard! 
In our classes I was exposed to the challenging poses but I didn’t give them much thought.  Until participating in this program, I never truly understood the concept of how spending time on a mat in a challenging pose could help prepare one for meeting the day to day challenges we all face!  Meditation was something that I always wanted to learn about and do.  I would read an occasional article about it or attend an intro to meditation class but I never pursued it.  It always seemed like there was no time to just sit around “and do nothing!” 

During the program I was overwhelmed at times.  The yoga was the hardest.  It was fast paced and I struggled with some of the poses.  I could hear my heart pounding away as I struggled to catch my breath! I wanted to keep up but eventually learned thru the prompts of the instructors to “ go at your own pace.  This is your practice.”  The workshops, True North an Using Props were a tremendous help. 

I loved the reading assignments but struggled with the self inquiry and journaling.  This was a new way of thinking for me and a little intimidating!  I realized that I never spent time thinking about my reactions or emotions.  It is so much easier to identify things/people around me that cause upset/challenges than looking within myself and realizing it might just be me and my way of thinking that is getting in the way.  The more I learned about myself the easier it has been to choose how I want to respond.  That has been powerful and I love the feeling that comes with it!​

Now that the 40 days are over I find myself still thinking about it.    I continue to do the yoga and I am getting stronger.    I practice some of the concepts we learned such as “stay and relax” and “begin again” both on and off the mat.  I am much more aware of how I am being in relation to how I want to be.  And I continue to meditate and  am exploring different apps.  I do better with guided meditation than trying to do it on my own!

- Kitty Switlick, CCYOGA Community Member