I have tried 3 yoga “flows” or routines so far in my SMART goal for EPHE 310. I won’t lie, I’ve been having trouble staying on track with the frequency at which I do my morning yoga throughout the week. With that being said, I’ve found it fairly easy to pull out the yoga poses that I already know when I have the time to do them – whether that be in the morning before school, in the evening, or when I need a little mindfulness or a stretch during the day. The difficult part has been finding new routines and finding time to try them. However, this challenge has motivated me to become familiar with new poses, so that I have them in my arsenal and can pull them out quickly without needing to look up diagrams or pictures. I found that what should have been a non-stressful, relaxing morning routine was such a hassle because I had to find new poses, learn how to do them, and then run through the whole routine to get a good sense of how it might work for me. I sort of relieved this pressure by a finding routine (the video from my previous update) the night before, and then trying it for the first time in the morning, so I had somewhat an idea of what was on the table the next morning.

In creating my own personal yoga routine, I already know that I want it to start with a short meditation as I’ve found it really keeps me grounded and gives me a chance to settle my mind. I will also be including the cat/cow and child’s pose, as those two have been most beneficial for my back pain and residual whiplash. Another one I am definitely including is the down dog that I learned in my first update. I am actually really starting to like the seated forward fold from the Back Pain Flow, as well as the pigeon pose which I originally found quite difficult the first time I tried it. I will probably end my routine with a 20-60s plank because it feels like a good closure with opportunity for mindfulness and reflection on the routine and my coming day, and it’s also a bit of a challenge for me. I have been trying to see how long I can hold my plank whenever I try it, and so far my record is 1 minute and 45 seconds comfortably.

Photo by Olivia Bauso on Unsplash

In wrapping up my SMART goal assignment soon, I was worried that I would be rushing progress near the deadline or needing to fill in gaps that I missed by slacking, but I’m happy and proud to say that I stayed as consistent as possible and tried my best even if it wasn’t exact to my original goal. Being able to recognize my lifestyle and adapt to be more realistic is definitely a skill that I exercised during this assignment. I also was able to learn about my threshold for learning new things and how to balance schoolwork and personal interests!