40 Days Later

The last time I wrote a blog I talked about the 40 Day Personal Revolution that I was preparing to participate in. Today is day 40 of that program. Have I transformed my life? I can confidently say, sorta.

During these past few weeks, I've definitely learned a lot from this experience. Like how to cut a pineapple, for example. Thanks, YouTube. But I've also learned more profound things, particularly about myself. I learned that I have more discipline, willpower, and strength than I've been utilizing, and more than I've given myself credit for.

The criteria for the 40 Days included yoga, meditation, self-inquiry, journaling, reading Baptiste's book, and participation in weekly meetings. I wasn't able to follow every guideline to the tee, and I'm pretty confident the other 40-ish participants in our program had to make adjustments as well. One of the (many) great pieces of advice our facilitator Chelsea shared was "Take what works for you, leave what doesn't." No reason to beat yourself up or quit because you missed one practice or evening meditation. Just jump back on the wagon and keep on keeping on.

And so I did. My overall consistency and dedication has been worth the effort. I feel more confident than I did at the beginning of the program. I've deliberately been stepping outside of my comfort zone to grow and expand those boundaries. I've gotten closer to others in my yoga community as well as other people outside the yoga studio. I've had some breakthroughs in my yoga practice, progressing in more advanced poses and feeling myself physically becoming stronger. I've developed a new relationship with food and I've lost weight. I've made changes job-wise to enhance the quality of my life. I feel like everything makes a lot more sense.  Overall, I just feel really good and I'm really grateful for the experience.

In life we're always expanding or we're contracting, and these past 40 days have definitely been a period of expansion. While I haven't transformed into a completely different person, I've definitely cultivated some better habits which I intend to continue from this point on. I will miss our weekly group meetings, but I can continue exploring other lessons I've learned in the program. Just keep taking what works, and leaving what doesn't.