Yoga | A few tips for the Instagram Challenge for June

I would like to share my experience of the #Mayibeginyoga challenge on instagram and some of my tips for completing the instagram challenge in June. Would love you to follow along!

If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen the #Mayibeginyoga challenge that I was doing during May. I have absolutely LOVED doing this challenge and I wanted to share my experience with you and hope you will be inspired to follow along with the June Challenge! (Will be sharing the details of the challenges I will be doing at the end of this post).

How the Challenge Works:
The #Mayibeginyoga challenge on Instagram was hosted by @beachyogagirl (and sponsored by @bitsybottom and @liforme). At the beginning of the month, Kerri Verna (@beachyogagirl) posts an image with 31 different asanas/yoga postures - one for each day of the month of May. The challenge is to do the asana for the day and snap a picture of yourself on the day, tagging her and the sponsors along with the hashtag #mayibeginyoga. Kerri has over 500 000 followers on Instagram, so participating in this challenge brings you together with a really awesome community of yogis. There is so much love and so many good vibes floating around that hashtag!

My experience of the Challenge:
Over the past month, I have seen an incredible change in my body from the inside out. I feel stronger, more toned and generally... happier, calmer, more centred within myself. After starting with just one posture a day, I have quickly come to love my 'yoga-mat-time' so much, that naturally over the course of these past 30 days, I have increased the amount of time I spend on the mat each day and I have seen the benefits tenfold. Some days I practise the assigned posture, some days I couple it with the posture from the day before, some days I do a video (from the site I mentioned here), other days I play around with postures that I want to improve or postures that I need to work on. I haven't been to enough yoga classes to be able to construct my own class but I've found it's enough to play around with the postures I do know. The more yoga you do, the more yoga you want to do, the more yoga you want to do, the more benefits you see from it, the more benefits you see from it, the more yoga you do. Big happy circle. It's that simple.

It was really helpful for me to have specific asanas to follow since I'm quite new to yoga and am not sure about all the different asanas and how they all work, so it was handy to have something to copy (that was also targeted at the beginner level). If you would like to try the beginner yoga asanas that I followed - you can see them here.

My tips for doing a yoga challenge on Instagram
1. Do the asanas every day - try not to miss a day and then "catch-up" the following day. Even if you only have time to a single posture, do it on the day that it is assigned. I have found that this is the single most beneficial thing about these challenges - since it creates a really good habit of doing yoga daily.
2. Take photos of yourself. For many people, yoga is a very private practise - and I definitely agree - but taking a photo of yourself every day will not only keep you accountable to the challenge, but in a short time you will be able to physically see the changes and differences in your postures and it's extremely motivating. Even if you choose not to share the pictures on Instagram, I would suggest taking them even if only for yourself. I have had so many comments and emails from people who have been inspired to start yoga after seeing my pics on instagram. So if you only ever post one picture and that one picture inspires one person... then high five to you!
3. Use the Challenge Hashtags and engage with the community. One thing I have loved about doing this challenge is the amazing community of yogis that I have found on instagram. Check in with other yogis who are doing the challenge, leave comments of encouragement for them. Follow new yogis who you find inspiring.
4. If you do post to Instagram- create a personal hashtag for yourself. You may have seen that I have created the #cheyoga hastag for myself on instagram and I really love having that "private" little space that I can check into to remind myself to be thankful for what my body and mind is capable of. I have chosen to take all my photos in black and white (it may change - who knows! But I do think the body in such a raw/black white shot is very beautiful.) I also have a separate "yoga" folder for pictures on my phone. I really recommend this.
5. Do not compare yourself to other people. Everyone has a different body. Every body is different. Everybody's body is different every day. (Those sentences really do all have unique meanings, I promise)

To get you up and AT 'EM with this yoga thang.. I have decided to construct some answers to all your lame excuses of why you can't do this challenge. So if you see your excuse listed below, take a moment to read the answer.

"I don't have a yoga mat"
Buy a yoga mat. Alternatively, use a towel. Alternatively, you don't need a yoga mat.

"I am so in-flexible"
Hello. Welcome to yoga.

"I don't have anyone to take my photos"
Get your phone up, set it on video. Push record. Do Yoga. Stop Recording. Screen shot video.

"I can't stand my phone up to take a video."
Use Blu-tac. Use pillows. Use Sticky Tape. Use books. Get creative. (You may even have a hilar result from it)

"I don't have space to do yoga"
You are such a liar.

"I don't have money to do yoga"
This challenge costs no money. You don't need fancy yoga clothes, you don't need any equipment, you don't even need a yoga mat. You just need you and your body.

"I don't have time to do yoga"
Even if you only hold a posture for ten seconds, you are still doing it. So if you're telling me you do not have ten seconds in your day, then I suggest you delete your Facebook Account. Over time, you will want to be practising for more than 10 seconds each day. Trust me.

"I'm just generally lame and don't want to do it"
Yes. You are lame. Get over yourself. Do yoga. You will thank me in a month.

The challenge for this month -
The challenge I want to follow this month is hosted by @beachyogagirl as well as @kinoyoga. The sponsor for this challenge is @shaktiactivewear. It is a challenge that aims to get you closer to hanumanasana (splits). The hashtag is #summersplits2014 and I have posted the asanas for the month below -

Every day you can check in with the challenge hosts who will post the asanas the night before - so that you have some guidance as to how to do the posture.

Another challenge which I have found that I think will compliment the #Summersplits2014 very well is the #stretchthatsplit challenge - also running this June. It is hosted by @fitwithgeorgie and @baileyactive. The asanas of which I have posted below:

I think it may be too overwhelming to try attempt both challenges at once - so i would suggest picking one as "your challenge" and then use some asanas from the other one to compliment "your challenge" on days that you want to do more. Since both of these challenges target splits, I have taken a "before" splits picture and will take one at the end of the challenge.

Can't wait to see all your fab yoginess!
Now, If you'll excuse me I'm off to Savasana.