30 DAY YOGA CHALLENGE MARCH 1-30, 2011: I wanted to thank you SO very much for offering the 30 day challenge opportunity to your students. After practicing Yoga for 30 straight days...I FEEL INCREDIBLE, inside and out! My overall mood is better, my outlook on life is more positive, my strength has increased(and I can flip my dog occasionally to show off this new strength!), my eating habits have improved, I have lost weight(7 pounds!!!), and I'm sleeping much better at night. More importantly, for once in my life I'm NOT stressing about having the perfect body, but rather I'm embracing the new found strength in my body. I once read and hadn't forgotten this tidbit....BE UN-APOLOGETICALLY YOURSELF. And as much as I tried to ingrain this in my mind, it wasn't until the 30 day challenge that I believed I could do this. On the yoga mat, nothing else mattered but breathing. My body shape didn't matter, bad hair days didn't matter, my flexibility didn't matter, my personal life struggles didn't matter, saying the wrong thing didn't matter....all I had to do was breathe and be myself...un-apologetically myself. And I liked what I saw and what I felt- I saw a strong woman/mother/wife/friend who showed commitment, discipline, finding my edge and LOVING the wonderful gifts God gave me. I can honestly say, this 30 day challenge has been a cathartic event in my life. The 30 day challenge may have ended today- but I truly believe its just the beginning of a yoga practice and new found strength I will have the rest of my life! Thank you again Allie. I've said it before and I'll say it again(and probably again and again), you make coming to Yoga class so enjoyable! Your encouragement, your positivity, and the way you teach your classes make us keep coming back for more. S.M. ___________________ Maybe you feel like you've heard this somewhere before Allie, :) but I wanted to THANK YOU, one more time, for putting out this Challenge! Thanks to you, I have learned SO MUCH about this new joy in my life! You've built a fabulous community in one short year, and I truly look forward to coming to your studio every day. We all know we can practice yoga anywhere, but your studio is unique for so many reasons, not the least of which include your knowledge and energy level, and sense of humor, and is definitely my preferred place to practice!
I called in many favors to cover me for childcare and work schedule issues to be able to practice at a studio every day for these past 30 days, but in between those, I found I WAS actually able to find other places in my life where I can make more time for myself and yoga practice, so this is GOOD!!! Thanks again for all the time and energy you've spent with this 30-day challenge.
