Accept the Challenge - A recap of my February Instagram yoga challenge

After experiencing so many amazing milestones in my running, I decided it was time to diversify my fitness and branch out into other areas that I don't yet have confidence in.  The first stop on this new journey was yoga.  I've always enjoyed and experienced the benefits of yoga when I actually dedicated time to it, but while training for marathons it wasn't my top priority.  Granted I did a lot of stretching and used yoga poses to help my running, but I didn't ever challenge myself to try new positions and I certainly didn't openly post pictures of myself trying them so other people could see my blatant yoga flaws.  February changed all of that.

I settled down in front of my laptop during one of our many snow-filled weekends in January and found twenty-eight different yoga poses; one for each day in February, thankfully the shortest month of the year! :) To save myself from too much embarrassment I made sure to include some poses that I had done previously but I also included positions I had never tried before to take me out of my comfort zone and prompt the growth I was seeking; after all that's what a true "challenge" is.  I have to admit, a couple of them were much harder than I thought they were going to be from just looking at a photo of someone else in the pose and there were a few attempts that ended in a face to face meeting with my floor. The insecurity I have in my yoga skills brought this looming fear every day when I was about to post my photo.  What would some of the accomplished yogis that may run across my awkward pictures think of my amateur skills? Would the people that could clearly see my flaws correct me on a public forum resulting in sheer embarrassment from even thinking I could try it? No, there was none of that.  The yoga community embraced me, uplifted me, told me how wonderful my attempts were, and gave me a little more confidence each day.  I cannot thank everyone enough that took the time to like and comment on my photos; each of you has made an impact and helped me become a better version of me.

To see more of the yoga poses I tried, check out my Instagram page at instagram.com/acmarcum.

In the short twenty-eight days that has just finished, I've been reminded that it's okay to be scared and push yourself beyond your comfort zone.  There is always going to be the potential for something to happen that you may not like, but there's the potential for something incredible to happen as well. You may not have success on your first try, but just trying something new is a success in itself; take the risk or you may never experience all you are capable of.  And, be sure to encourage others around you; speaking first-hand I can tell you they will absolutely appreciate it and you will put a smile on their face.

All images are the property of Amy Marcum unless other wise stated and may not be used without the written consent of Amy Marcum.