Weakness Wednesday and (another) Yoga Challenge

Remember last July when I did my 30 day [at-home] Yoga challenge? It went well, and  I completed the challenge, but I wasn't too changed afterwards. Mainly because my challenge consisted of doing yoga at least 10 minutes a day. Since I was commuting and super busy at the time, 10 minutes of yoga was pretty much all I did. And it wasn't enough to increase my flexibility or persuade me to keep my yoga practice.  

So, I'm trying the 30 day Yoga challenge again, only this time, I'm not hosting it.

Head over to Run to the Finish to sign up. During the month of May, she is challenging readers to practice yoga at least 30 minutes a day.
That’s it. That’s all the guidelines we get. What type of yoga is up to us. Where we practice is up to us.
It’s going to be a good challenge.
She'll have posts about yoga throughout the month, and we'll also be hearing from other yogis. I think it will be good to join someone else's challenge.

It’s a way to push me back into my own practice, and keep me accountable. Plus, I’ll have just finished a cycle of training, come off a half-marathon, and be in between races. You all know I’m hoping to do a marathon this fall, but I’m thinking about a few triathlons this summer as well, maybe even a 15k. I need yoga to keep me  balanced during this training. It’s amazing how good I feel during training when I am actively practicing yoga. It really does create balance.

It’s time to choose yoga again, and make the effort to integrate it back into my training.
Plus, I am really hoping to start pursuing yoga certification through YogaFit, and unless I get my home practice back into a solid habit, it’s just silly to even try teaching it.

As for taper week, and my active rest day today, I’m focusing on this pose:

(Yoga is my weakness, so Wednesday’s are my focus days.)

I love Pigeon pose because it is the pose to open my hips and stretch my glutes. At least in my world its the pose.   I can always tell when my practice is weaning because Pigeon feels a little bit harder than normal. It’s a test to my flexibility at any given moment. When I fold over the front leg, I find it gives a nice lower back stretch as well.

This is a GREAT pose for runners, and here’s a nice, short how-to from Fit Sugar.  I challenge you to integrate it into your practice, or just try the pose today. Spend five minutes sinking into the pose (both right and left side) and see if your hips/glutes feel better.

Passing the Baton: Do you practice yoga or integrate it into your training? If so, what’s  your favorite pose?  What about the 30-day challenge? Are you up for it? Let’s talk.