My alarm goes off at 7:00 every morning. I yawn, scratch my head, make a super big cup of chai tea, and unroll my yoga mat onto my bedroom floor. 

I always get super excited when I hear the slap of the vinyl yoga mat falling onto my carpet. Since I started Yoga With Adriene, a free yoga youtube class, fifteen days ago, this ritual of waking up, tuning in to Adriene, and breathing, became addicting. I always knew yoga was good for you, but I never could have guessed how equally painful, humbling, and exhilarating this practice would become.

My journey began March 12th when all school sports were canceled. At first I kept up with my usual lacrosse training. But after a while, I lost interest in training for a season that didn’t seem like it was ever coming back. The worst part about staying in shape for a team sport is when you’re doing it by yourself. So, I turned to the powerful google in search of an alternative. 

YouTube became a great pastime for me during the virus. Don’t pretend like you haven’t been watching the classic cat videos and DIY channels we all know and love. But, YouTube also was recommending some yoga videos after I searched for some core exercises one day. I’m pretty familiar with yoga. I used to go every once and while with my mom to a studio by my house, but with school, sports, and life altogether, it was hard to fit it in. I wish the reason I started practicing yoga again was more magical, but out of all honesty I clicked “watch” out of pure boredom. And so it began. The most inflexible girl you know was attempting downward dog and pigeon pose. 

I’m not going to lie to you, some days when I finally rolled out of bed after hitting snooze a dozen times, yoga was the last thing I wanted to do. But, I learned that yoga, like a lot of things in life, is not peaches and cream all the time. You do it out of discipline. You do it because you made a promise to yourself. And some days you do it because you feel like the spunky yoga lady on the screen will find you and hunt you down if you don’t. 

In a time of uncertainty and overwhelming flexibility I found that it’s nice to have structure. Yoga at 7:15 is something I know I can always count on. I’ve noticed that starting my day with yoga makes me more focused for remote learning and it also gives me an opportunity to really listen to my body. After practicing this very unfamiliar routine for awhile, it has become my new normal. Yoga has taught me that eventually we feel comfort in the uncomfortable. And yes, talking to people over google hangouts and seeing people in masks everywhere will become more normal too. 

So, what will dedicating twenty minutes of your day to yourself do for your health? Whether it’s writing, going on a run, or listening to music, giving yourself something to look forward to can be liberating. At the end of the day yoga is a personal journey which is a concept I think we forget as people with crazy ultra-involved lives. Setting aside time for yourself with purpose is harder than it seems. But as Adriene says, “there are all these little moments for me in the at home yoga practice where we have a chance to really feel the love, and practice that self love. It’s a popular topic, but can we get into the habit of really taking these tiny moments . . . to feel it.” My advice to you; stop missing these moments to improve yourself.