During one of this summer's visits to a friend's cottage, I brought a stack of yoga DVDs. We did two classes each day for four days. One of my friends--I'll keep her anonymous for reasons that will become obvious before the end of this sentence--happily reported that she began pooping four to five times a day by the time we hit day two. This pooping continued through to the end of day four. She was thrilled and radiant.

This makes me wonder about yoga challenges. When I Google "yoga challenge," I see 21-day, 30-day, 35-day, and 40-day versions, all of which promise fabulous benefits, particularly if you throw in meditation, a vegetarian or vegan or raw diet, gallons of water, and throw out caffeine, sugar, and chips, I suppose. (Kill me now, why don't you, says a significant chunk of my ego.)

I can't speak for the dietary changes, but it occurs to me that I've been doing yoga daily for the last 90 days or so, since the onset of my Kundalini infatuation. Here are some observations:

1. I'm glad it happened without me labeling it a challenge at the onset. There's a chance that a formal commitment would have whipped up my resistance. I'd like get beyond this kind of resistance.

2. I adore it every day, often twice each day.

3. No extra pooping for me, perhaps because my GI tract was happy already.

4. There are days when I begin with less energy than I'm used to. On these days I learn something about how my sleep is affected by my lovely man's snoring and the smacking of my dog's lips all night long. I learn about what food depletes my energy and what food restores me. I learn about the effect of my attitude and mood on my energy levels. Mostly, I learn that I still feel far better within minutes of beginning practice. This learning has been invaluable.

5. Practice has become a solid habit. I don't question whether I'll practice, only when.

6. I think daily practice is increasing my enjoyment of meditation. This one was unexpected. My meditation feels deeper and more blissful most days.

That's it for me. I'd love to know whether you've done one of these challenges and how you felt it changed you or your practice. Was it significantly different than doing three days a week? Did it help you establish a home practice? Did you lose your taste for chips altogether? So many questions. 

By the way, Yoga Journal has a 7-day Ayurvedic Fall Detox challenge beginning Sept. 12th. Good timing?

Thanks to yoga for presenting all kinds of challenges. Thanks to you for the conversation,

kristin

Dr. Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (About All Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario.  Join her on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on iTunes.