I built a new habit! (Or, Yoga January)

For 2020 I made a New Year's resolution to do a small amount of yoga every day in January. I wanted to see if it would make a noticeable difference, and also expected it to build a habit. The goal was very simple - do a (ideally different) 10-20 minute YogaDownload class every day and record/rate each class. I have found that starting small like this, and holding my "streak" accountable is a great way to build a habit.

(You might have missed my recent post about how I got into yoga and the classes I use; I forgot to link it on Twitter and the stats currently say only one person has read it - here's the link.)

I didn't quite end up doing a different class every day but I think I tried at least 25 different classes. Near the end of the month I was getting tired of holding myself to under 20 minutes and figured I should not be limiting myself to doing less exercise than I actually wanted (even if it was for science)! Several days during the month I also ended up tacking on a second class after doing my short one, but overall I found it very easy to make myself get on the mat for at least 15 or so minutes every day.

I also found it made a massive and very noticeable difference in my mobility, flexibility, energy, and mental health! Within the first 10 days or so I could do downward dog without bending my knees for the first time in my life. 2/3 through the month I could do a frog squat, again something I'd never been able to do before and just assumed I didn't have the natural flexibility for. January was an incredibly slow month work-wise - I barely cracked 20 hours of paid time in the entire month. This is something that in the past may have really discouraged me, but having some goals for what to do with my time (keeping up my Duolingo streak is another ongoing thing for 2020) made it seem like my days were not total wastes of time.

I continue to love the variety of classes on YogaDownload, and forcing myself to try at least 20 new short classes was really fun. I picked up quite a few new favourite classes and instructors. This list is mainly for myself but if anyone reading this does use YDL (or want to try out the free classes!), the following were my favourite short classes that I did in January:

Morning Quickie - Elise Fabricant (free! no subscription needed so anyone can try this class)
20-Minute Yoga Fix - Keith Allen
Anytime Sun Salutations - Jackie Casal Mahrou (my favourite teacher and one of my very favourite short classes)
Fitness 'n' Yoga: Body Awakening Flow - Ben Davis
Travel Transition Tuneup - Claire Petretti Marti (free! awesome if you've sat all day)
True North Flow - Kristin Gibowicz (Kristin has the best cues for posture and alignment)
Fuel Your Tapas Flow - Kristin Gibowicz
Quick Energy Boost - Keith Allen (this one never feels like it's only 13 minutes!)
Beat the Winter Blues Namaskar - Maria Garre
Brain Break - Ellen Kaye (free AND fully standing, no mat required)
Yoga Break for Writers' Block - Claire Petretti Marti (another free and fully standing class that you can do anywhere)
Stand Up and Stretch - Jackie Casal Mahrou (I didn't actually use this one in January, but it's 10 mins, no mat, and free so I do it lots in hotel rooms etc.)

I can't say enough about how amazed I am that such a short amount of yoga done regularly can have such powerful effects (though in hindsight, duh). My original goal was to just do this for January and see how it went, but I see zero reasons to quit. If you want to start small and try something similar, I'd recommend doing the 10-minute free Stand Up and Stretch class for a few days in a row. I think you'll notice an immediate difference, and might even be inspired to try more!