What Is a “Yoga Challenge”?
Yoga challenge is likely to be a guide that leads you to push your limits spiritually, mentally and physically. Unlikely other disciplines and practices, yoga challenges support you to stretch and strengthen your body as much as possible while guiding you to achieve your spiritual growth.
It is believed that yoga discipline or practice was firstly originated in ancient India and then, its popularity spread and inspired all around the world. Yoga discipline or practice keeps inspiring humanity since 3000 BC.
The spread of high usage of social media allowed everyone to have unlimited access to everything. Likely to everything on earth, it was inevitable for yoga to stay out of this situation. Yoga, tree of life, has another branch now: Yoga Challenge.
Some of the yogis came up with the idea of online yoga classes and now, it is a trend all around the world. Nowadays, rather than joining yoga studios, people prefer to sign up for online yoga classes as it is more affordable and less time-consuming. The high demand for online yoga classes ended up with the birth of yoga challenges and aroused curiosity within.
How Can We Succeed in Yoga?
Yoga challenge is the exact answer to this question as it provides you an easy initiation, physical and spiritual continuity, and a satisfying ending. It has a strong impact on you to fulfill three major assumptions of yoga, which are accepted by yogis as correct usage of breath, listening to your body, and routine practice. If you want to tend to yoga practice or discipline, you should enroll in a yoga challenge as soon as possible.
Can Yoga Be Challenging?
The spread of online yoga classes, so the yoga challenges led the yogis to ask this particular question: “Can yoga be challenging? If the answer is yes, can it be still called “yoga”?
The higher demand for the yoga challenges, the more occurrence of query within. As time passes, people are getting much more involved in social media, so the online yoga classes and yoga challenges and they launch into questioning about it. One of the most frequently asked questions is whether there is a huge difference between the idea of yoga and yoga challenges or not.
It became a controversial topic that yoga challenge became significantly separate from the unique and traditional idea of yoga and its disciplines since it is up-to-date and occurred online.
Some people believe that the main idea of yoga is not just focusing on strengthening body and flexibility but much more about relief, awareness, meditation, and self-growth, which significantly differs it from the yoga challenge because likely to fitness and plates, it is quite challenging for the body and lack of addressing mentality and soul.
On the other hand, many of the yoga experts are against this idea because according to what they think, the ultimate goal of yoga challenge is not to challenge its followers but to enable them to understand and practice the main assumptions of yoga efficiently.
In my point of view, yoga challenge plays a significant role for you to be deeply involved in the idea of yoga. Besides, rather than being apart from the idea of yoga, yoga challenge turned into a part of it. Yoga challenge is a key to join the world of yoga for the ones who cannot dare.
Benefits of Yoga Challenge
Starting a yoga challenge can be seen a bit tough in the beginning but after completing it at all, you will be receiving its benefits more than you ever expected. A yoga challenge aims to be helping you to get the optimum advantage from yoga with its mentality.
Yoga challenge plays a significant role for you to get benefited from yoga as much as possible since it encourages you to get you into the habit of a routine yoga practice. Most of the yoga challenges are focusing on daily routine and make you more familiar with practicing yoga every day.
What is more, the yoga challenge helps you to improve your confidence in yoga a lot. Some people avoid starting yoga due to feeling as if they are not capable enough for that. However, another aim of the yoga challenge is to improve your self-belief in yoga. The more you get into the main idea of yoga and its techniques, the more confident and fearless you will be.
Types of Yoga Challenges
There is a huge variety of yoga challenges appealing to everyone at every age and level. Although there is a bunch of opportunities for you to decide on which yoga challenge to set off with, it is essential to make a conscious decision on the most suitable option, considering your ability, attitude and aims. More briefly, if you are more into a holistic practice, you may be choosing a chakra challenge but if you aim to increase your flexibility, the asana challenge is the exact option for you, do not think twice.
Advanced? Intermediate? Basic?
There is no need for you to be an expert at yoga to get along with a yoga challenge. On the contrary, the yoga challenge is a step for you to be a yoga expert.
If you are a beginner, basic yoga challenges are suitable for you to get started. If you are familiar with yoga, you should prefer an intermediate yoga challenge then continue with an advanced one. If you are an expert, you able to choose an advanced yoga challenge to get yourself further.
Single or Partner?
If you feel much more concentrated on what you are succeded in doing when you have someone with you, you may have a yoga challenge partner as well since there are yoga challenges for partners too.
Your wife or husband, girlfriend, or boyfriend, one of your best friends, one of your family members, or who else you can think of can be your yoga challenge partner. However, you should be picky and attentive while choosing your partner because while practicing, that person will turn to your yoga partner, not someone you are closed to in your daily life.
If your partner is unambitious, this may lead to a yoga challenge failure. Also, you and your partner’s goal should be the same to choose a yoga challenge suitable for you both. For example, if your goal is to increase your body performance but your partner aims to open the chakras, you should not be matched.
After reading this, if you think that you still have the perfect partner for you, here is a product recommendation for you specifically for yoga partners, available on Amazon.com:
SISYAMA Extra Large Workout Mat 9′ x 6′ x 5mm Group Partner Aerial Yoga Mat Dance Barefoot Training Living Room Home Gym Flooring
https://www.amazon.com/Sisyama-Exercise-Training-Flooring-Non-Toxic/dp/B07H21P1NJ
This product is a great opportunity for yoga partners to be practicing and exercising together since it is a large workout mat. Although it has a high demand, if you are not comfortable with that, you may send it back and ask for a full refund.
Best Known Yoga Challenges
As online yoga challenges become extremely popular these days, you can be unsure about choosing unreliable ones. In case you are hesitating, I am sharing some of the most recommended yoga challenges with you.
30 Days of Yoga: The Beginner Series with Ritesh Sheth
It is a strongly recommended yoga challenge instructed by Ritesh Sheth, available on Amazon.com.
It is a 30-day yoga challenge, offering you a brief combination of stretching, meditating, and breathing exercises with origin practice of yoga, not the western and modernized one. It is a great option for you to start this yoga challenge especially if you are much more interested in the ancient practice of yoga to get the idea of it. As you can understand from its name, this yoga challenge is for beginner yogis.
https://www.amazon.com/30-Days-Yoga-Beginner-Ritesh/dp/B0833G421K
Refresh&Energize-Daily Mornin Yoga for All Levels
It is a popular yoga challenge instructed by Join Erinda, available on Amazon.com.
This yoga challenged is considered to be a morning yoga challenge for everyone at every level. Although most of the yoga challenges are usually done before lunchtime, this yoga challenge is specifically for morning hours, right after you wake up. If you want to start your day refreshed, you better try this yoga challenge and see the difference. Once you start this challenge, you will never regret it.
https://www.amazon.com/Refresh-Energize-Daily-Morning-Levels/dp/B07XWQTZ7J
Flexibility Yoga 30 Minute Workout To Boost Mobility – Julia Jarvis
It is a therapeutical, intermediate level yoga challenge, instructed by Julia Jarvis, available on Amazon.com.
Do you know someone, a colleague of you, or your classmate, that never struggles with a pain problem? No matter in what standards you are living in, nearly everyone wakes up with pain thanks to the stressful, rash, and busy conditions of city life. If you are willing to get rid of this situation and take care of yourself much more before its too late, let’s get it started with this yoga challenge.
If you are in trouble with chronic back pain as you have tight hips and hamstrings, there is no way for you to underestimate this yoga challenge, which is absolutely for you. Do it at least twice a week and take control of your body from pain.
https://www.amazon.com/Flexibility-Minute-Workout-Boost-Mobility/dp/B01MUS7EW3
30 Days of Yoga To A New You
This is one of the most recommended yoga challenge, instructed by Join Jess, available on Amazon.
It is a 30-day yoga challenge, based more on specific yoga poses to support you to get the most out of your practice. It starts with basic exercises for you to get used to and then, it moves up to much more advanced yoga poses in the upcoming videos. This yoga challenge is exactly for yoga experts or who hopes to be someday.
One of the common issues about online yoga courses and challenges is that no one has an eye on you and this may result in an injury. Since no one is observing you, you may injure yourself by accident. If you have any concerns about that, this yoga challenge is exactly for you because it is clear and slow enough for you to not to face any problems or come up with mistakes.
https://www.amazon.com/30-Days-Yoga-New-You/dp/B075JGVQ37
How to Choose the Best Online Yoga Class for Yourself:
The wide range of online yoga classes may result in a difficulty to access the most suitable one for you.
Before coming up with choosing the best online yoga class for yourself, you should be aware of its reliability. Asking or searching for certifications and qualifications of an online yoga class or instructor is not something rude but life-saver in that sense. An unreliable online class can seem beneficial at first sight because it is free or much more affordable but in the following days, it may cause danger even if it is not on purpose.
Although reliability is a necessity, your job is not done yet because there is another essential criteria for you. You should be looking for the most appropriate online yoga class for yourself. Bear in mind that, an online yoga class may be beneficial for someone else but not you. So, get help from the others but avoid choosing your online yoga class only with someone else’s feedback and make your preferences based on your needs and goals.
Last but not least, you should focus on whether you have a health problem or not. If you have, you should not start practicing before getting permission from your doctor. Please keep that in mind that any kind of an instructor or a yoga expert cannot be a professional at that point. Once you get permission, you may start but if vice versa, you should avoid forcing yourself to practice on your unfit part of your body. Never let the treatment recommendations of yoga misguide you.
Tips to Be Successful at a Yoga Challenge:
Be Highly Motivated
Before you start a yoga challenge, you better find motivation for yourself. It can be strengthening your body, increasing your flexibility, losing weight, decreasing your fat ratio, or reaching your self-growth. What you should be careful about while finding motivation is that it should be unique to you, not to someone else. You should keep that in mind that you are alone on this journey.
You must set up a goal but, you should be realistic too. Your goal should not be a utopia. Keep in mind that, it will take some time for you to achieve your goal. Be patient and see what will happen in the following days. Never give up and stay focused. When you are highly motivated, there can be nothing holding you back!
Drink Water
You should drink more than enough water based on your body mass index(BMI). Drinking water is not just a need for the body function but a chance for all of us to be refreshed.
When you practice or exercise yoga, your muscles produce heat that is directly evacuated to maintain your body temperature. Hence, your body expects you to consume much more water than enough to be regulating the water balance of your body. Increasing the hydration level of your body will avoid the dehydration of your body, so the health problems.
During your practicing, you will get so thirsty. At that moment, you will need a bottle of water around but, why not an excellent one?
Simple Modern 18 oz Summit Water Bottle with Straw Lid – Gifts for Hydro Vacuum Insulated Tumbler Flask Double Wall Liter – 18/8 Stainless Steel -Winter White is the one for you.
It is a summit water bottle, available on Amazon.com. Also, it is one of the Best Sellers of Amazon.
Have a Healthy Nutrition Habit
If you are stuck in an unhealthy life, it is inevitable for you to make some significant changes in your feeding habit. You should prefer consuming healthy food and make it a habit for yourself.
You should never eat just before or right after practicing in case of getting drowsy.
Do Not Drink Alcohol
If possible, you should beware of drinking alcohol because it may affect your daily routine and it causes extreme harm to your body. Alcohol is not your friend.
Consume Less Coffee and Tea
Is there anyone who spends a day without drinking coffee or tea? It cannot be possible in our century to quit it but, you better balance it and avoid consuming it too much because even if we feel like it keeps us awake, it is too addictive and may cause and trigger some of the chronal diseases.
However, if there is even a small percentage of the possibility that you are willed enough to stop consuming coffee or tea, do it immediately. Square the circle!
Stop Smoking
If you are addicted to smoking, you better quit it. Even if you are not addicted but a social smoker, you better quit it too because your smoking habit or so-called, not habit may disable you from breathing techniques of yoga. By the way, it is not just about smoking cigarettes, but any kind of tobacco products as well.
Now, I give you a hand to quit smoking.
NicoDerm CQ Nicotine Patch, Clear, Step 1 to Quit Smoking, 21mg, 14 Count is all you need, available on Amazon.com.
Sleep Well
You need to be in fine fettle so you should sleep well. Once you have a disturbed sleep problem, if you are lucky, it may keep going like but if not, it may increase and disturb your life.
Having a regular sleep routine may rescue you from laziness and support your orderly life. Sleeping is not just a need for rest, but a need for your body and mentality.
Choose the Right Music
Meditative, relaxing, calming and rejuvenating music is by far the most popular music choice for you to listen while practicing yoga because it will help you to relieve yourself and be much more concentrated on your work. Pop, rap, rock, or R&B music types are not recommended to listen while practicing yoga.
Create a Workout Place
While practicing, there has to be nothing around that can be distractive. Once you get interrupted, you are lost. Getting interrupted or giving a pause to yoga challenges may end up with a failure.
Hence, you should create a silent workout place while practicing. If you have pets, you should not allow them to enter your workout place because they will be too curious to cause an interruption. Also, you shouldn’t have a darkroom but a sun-drenched one.
Avoid Using Electronic Devices
The usage of electronic devices, apart from the one that you keep following the online yoga challenge, is strictly not advised while practicing as it may cause poor concentration. It will be better for you to close or silent your mobile phone in case of receiving any kind of notifications.
Dress Comfortable
All you need while practicing is to be physically and emotionally comfortable. You cannot let your clothing to get you out from your comfort zone. You can wear whatever you want to while practicing but, you should not choose clothes that may disturb you.
When you practice yoga, you will be stretching your body, twisting, and randomly moving so your clothes have to allow you to have free and easy movements in all directions instead of preventing you. You can prefer wearing tighter-fitting clothes instead of baggy t-shirts, which are certainly fine but can be distracting anyway.
If you are confused about which cloth to choose, here is a product recommendation for you:
CRZ YOGA Women’s High Waisted Yoga Pants with Pockets Naked Feeling Workout Leggings-25 Inches
It is high waisted workout leggings, available on Amazon.com. Also, it is one of the Amazon’s choice.
While practicing yoga, you should never think of anything but yourself. This product was designed especially for yoga, providing you to have a naked feeling. Also, it is a great deal for you to move comfortably.
Do Not Wear Accessory
Wearing any kind of accessories may disturb you while practicing but especially wearing necklaces and bracelets are not recommended in case of getting sweat.
Tie Your Hair
If you are a woman with a long hair cut, it will be better for you to tie your hair. If you have a short hair cut, use bandanas as a headband.
Here is a product recommendation for you:
Styla Hair 10 Pack Yoga Headbands – Stretchy Cotton Sports Head Band – White It is a package of good quality yoga headbands, available on Amazon.com.
Unlikely to others in the market, it is a soft cotton and sweat-wicking product, appealing to both men and women. It is stretchy and fits well. You will never regret but appreciated in purchasing this product.
https://www.amazon.com/Styla-Hair-Pack-White-Headbands/dp/B072K1XWW4?ref_=ast_slp_dp
These tips and precautions may seem unessential to you right now but I advise you to pay utmost attention because once you have interfered while exercising your yoga challenge, there may be no coming back. Besides, if you will be facing any kind of difficulty due to your habits, all of your efforts may go unnoticed.
Last but Not Least!
Starting a yoga challenge is the best option for you to get along with the idea of yoga as it supports you to improve your flexibility, strengthening, and twisting your body while helping you to achieve your self-growth. It may be though at first but you will get benefited from it after completing it.
If you ever think of quitting, keep in mind that there is nothing you cannot get through. Never lose faith, always believe in yourself, start a yoga challenge, and open your arms to the ancient, holistic, and practicing world of yoga. Your efforts will pay off.
