First off, you are doing great. Keeping up motivation is so hard.

Let us know how the Pep talk is. Maybe you can devise your own peptalk for yourself. When your feeling the funk.

You know, I've been having the same issues lately with my own home practice. Being an adolescent without a currently accessible penny to her name, or even merciful parents, I've had to do my own home practice using only DVDs (and since I currently only own Yoga Shakti and Fat Free Yoga: Lose Weight and Feel Great with Ana Brett and Ravi Singh, I'm caught in a bit of a standstill of my own. I guess I'll eventually find a studio, but for now, I'll rough it.

Hello! Like you I'm new to yoga,in fact it was the Januray issue that actually got me started!! You are VERY fortunate to have the help of Jason,I'm at it ALONE,only the book,"OM At Home",and a very good lorena Mckinnet. So every day except Saturday,I go into my bedroom and do 45 mins of yoga. On some days I drag my sorry tired 53 year old bones to the mat,and after I'm so happy I did! So please do not give up!! Be grateful you have the help you need and the encouragement as well as the caring of a devoted yogi. Many Wonderful Blessings to you! Namo Nancy L

"Wallow in my yoga funk!" Ha ha ha, I like that.

Leah, the other day I was in my Bikram Yoga class and during Tree pose I noticed that my knee was moving down and my foot was moving up towards my groin. In fact, the change was so pronounced that I burst out laughing.

This Bikram class was after a very good morning weights and stretching class. I said to myself "my body has finally turned a corner!" (I have spent the last year and half trying to loosen up my hips and straighten my right leg.)

Well, the next day my hip and knee were very sore and sensitive. I could barely complete the Bikram series and my two steps forward seemed to have shot me three steps back.

So, I took a couple of days off to recover and now I have entered what you described so well as "wallowing in my yoga funk" day.

Here is to our recovery from yoga funk and on to yoga excellence.

Best Regards,

Jim

Leah,

Sounds like it's time to keep your head down and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Why'd you miss your session with Jason? Sounds like that's a major motivator for you ... better make sure you keep that appointment in the future!

Where ever you are (boredom, frustration, resistance) remember that's the perfect place to be. Just notice what's coming up, take it as information and work with it.

Are you to the point yet where you're enjoying how your body feels when you're done with a session?

I too have just begun yoga as a way to help me get back to moving. I've had a separated pelvis and managed to gain 50 pounds in a year! I have a great beginner class and have been showing my kids what I've learned. HANG IN THERE HONEY!!! Your body thanks you!!!

We love you Leah!! It is great to hear updates on your yoga adventure . . . . the ups and the downs. It took me several years of going to yoga classes and practicing on and off before a style and place to practice finally "clicked" for me. Keep looking and learning and one day I hope something "clicks" for you. When it does, you won't worry about being accountable or feeling guilty. Maybe that something you find is yoga . . . maybe not. Whatever it is you will practice it because it resonates with you and that is when you know you have found what you are looking for. Have a great week!

I am in a similar situation and TOTALLY understand the guilt. I came to this site today as part of a rededication to the practice. So take an invigorating yogic breath, and remember you have a huge network of support.

Hang in there. I too am new to yoga and have finally managed to attend 2-3 practices a week consistently after a year of stop-start. I view yoga as something I owe to my body to help it age gracefully - I'm 42 and look forward to each practice. Good luck with your practice and the multitude of benefits that will follow.

Keep it up! :> I love following your story in particular. Remember that yoga has benefits you can't see- it flushes your organs out, it balances your body, etc. Perhaps you aren't doing a style of yoga that works for you- I've had to "shop around" until I found classes that really meshed with what I want the experience to be. Maybe you'd like iyengar or jivamukti better, for example :) You can start over any time, pretend it's the first time you ever went to a class.

Hi Leah,
Sweetie, don't waste your time on guilt. It sounds like what you may need is a good restorative class or a massage. If you let yoga be just one more thing to do on your list, it will just cause you more pain and suffering- so not the point.
I love Jason's advice, but holding a pose for one or two minutes seems silly, this is about you finding your inner teacher, she will tell you when you are done with the pose, and when to push and stay in just one more deep breath. Do the poses you love and the harder poses will become easier and more interesting. This is about increasing your joy- you work so hard and deserve to feel good in your body.
Namaste,
jennifer