14 Day Yoga Challenge Schedule

For some reason, it never occurred to me to go away on vacation and come back having acquired a new skill. How many times over the years had I thought of picking up a new hobby, only to feel like I couldn’t commit? Learn a new language, amp up my yoga practice, or take cooking classes. Last year, my New Year’s resolution was to dedicate myself to long-term goals. So, why not get back into yoga by trying a 14 day yoga challenge!

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be doing a new series on my blog, which I’ve decided to call “2-Week Challenges”. The idea is that, you can go away on vacation and come back having gained a skill you’ve always wanted to learn. I thought I’d take advantage of an unlimited yoga pass. For $125 I can take all the classes I want for a month at my favorite yoga studio in Myrtle Beach. Shout out to Yoga in Common!

Thoughts from Week 1

I’m currently one week into this interesting journey, and I can barely move my arms or legs I’m so sore. So far, I’ve completed a total of 12.5 hours of yoga. I actually haven’t practiced yoga in over six months, so I’m basically starting from scratch. On day one, I couldn’t touch my toes. I could barely do any of the positions. My whole body felt tense and all of my muscles felt tight.

You might be thinking, “You did yoga before, so it’s easier to start back up.” While I do know the positions, I’ve never been great at yoga. Yoga for me is all about going at my own pace and not comparing myself to others, but for the purpose of this conversation, I can honestly say that I have never been one of those girls who looks photo worthy during yoga. I’m okay at it, but I know with practice I could be great one day. So here we are.

It’s day seven, and I can officially touch my toes again. Yay! I’m still really sore and tight and have trouble with a lot of the postures. If you’re not familiar with yoga, a lot of the positions have different levels. You start out at the easiest, and if you feel good, you add a step to make it harder. If you still feel good, you add another step. If you still don’t feel pain and you’re not falling over, you get to the point where one limb is on the ground, and you’re pulling off moves that defy gravity. I’m still on step one. Actually, I’m still struggling with step one. But week two is a whole new ball game, and I’m amping up my class intake now that I’m feeling warmed up.

I didn’t want to push myself too hard during week one because no one wants to have an injury on his or her first week of vacation. I also planned my schedule so that I did yoga for 1-2 hours in the morning and had the entire afternoon at my disposal. That way, if you are on vacation, you could do something similar and still enjoy your afternoons in whatever exotic place you are visiting. Even if that exotic place is just your living room.

My favorite part of this challenge is that it’s not expensive. Instead of doing a $2000 yoga retreat, you can make your own. If you have a stay-cation coming up and don’t want to waste it binge-watching Netflix, you really can have an incredible time learning a new art form. You can also travel to some far off land and sign up at a local yoga studio and make your own itinerary.

So here’s what I did during week one. Oh, and there will be photos of my progress in week two. I’ve included some YouTube videos for reference in case you want to do the challenge at home!

14 Day Yoga Challenge – Week 1 Schedule

Day 1

1 hour – Vinyasa Flow (YouTube video)

1 hour – Basic Hatha (Youtube video)

Day 2

1 hour – Gentle Yoga (YouTube video)

1 hour – Align & Flow (YouTube video)

Day 3

Rest Day – also known as the day I couldn’t really move

Day 4

1 hour 15 mins – Vinyasa Flow (YouTube video)

Day 5

1 hour 15 mins – Stretch & Strengthen (YouTube video)

1 hour – Vinyasa Flow (YouTube video)

1 hour – Restorative (Youtube video)

Day 6

1 hour – Hot Vinyasa (YouTube video)

1 hour – Basic Hatha (Youtube video)

Day 7

1 hour – Basic Hatha (Youtube video)

1 hour – Restorative (Youtube video)

Thoughts from Week 2

I’ve just completed week two of my 14 day yoga challenge, and boy, am I exhausted. This week, I really pushed myself to get better and tried to do three hours of yoga a day. While my original goal was to be more flexible, fix my posture, and be healthier, yoga has always had a second affect on me. Most people join yoga for the physical exercise, but it’s always my mind that becomes the healthiest when I practice. Attending three classes a day with multiple instructors really gave me some amazing insight and reminded me of some important life lessons.

My first class this week started with wise words of wisdom spoken in a soft and gentle voice. “Don’t bind yourself to things that no longer serve you.” I learned in my meditation retreat to let go of negative thoughts, but lately my daydreams have gotten the better of me. Letting go of positive thoughts can sometimes be harder than letting go of the negative. Often times, I want to hold onto them because they’re nice to think about, but they also distract me from living in the moment. So this week, I worked hard on letting my daydreams pass instead of binding myself to them.

On day three, I took a class that reminded me that sometimes we take things too seriously. Whether it’s in life or a yoga class, there are times you need to just relax and have fun. As my instructor said, “Sometimes you have to take fun seriously.” During the class, we listened to The Beetles, Pink Floyd, etc. instead of our regular meditation music. We laughed as we messed up poses. We giggled as a new song began to play. We remembered to smile during our practice because we were there to enjoy each moment.

My final class of the week was as great as the first. The instructor told us a saying that translated to “I am divine.” A reminder to accept ourselves and not be so judgmental. Since it was the last class of a two-week marathon, I felt exhausted and knew my body needed a rest. Instead of comparing myself to the people next to me and trying to keep up, I moved gently through the positions. I took breaks when needed, and praised myself just for showing up even though I wanted nothing more than to be home on my couch eating ice cream.

14 Day Yoga Challenge: Week 2 Schedule

Day 8

Day off

Day 9

1 hour – Gentle Yoga (YouTube video)

1 hour – Align & Flow (Youtube video)

1 hour – Restorative (YouTube video)

Day 10

1 hour – Power Yoga (YouTube video)

1 hour – Basic Hatha (YouTube video)

1.5 hour – Hot Yoga (YouTube video)

Day 11

1 hour 15 mins – Vinyasa Flow (YouTube video)

Day 12

1 hour – Stretch and Strengthen (YouTube video)

1 hour – Vinyasa Flow (YouTube video)

1 hour – Restorative (YouTube video)

Day 13

1 hour – Hot Vinyasa (YouTube video)

1 hour – Basic Hatha (YouTube video)

1 hour – Vinyasa Flow (YouTube video)

Day 14

1 hour – Basic Hatha (YouTube video)

1 hour – Restorative (YouTube video)

Final Thoughts

I wrapped up the second week of my 14 day yoga challenge having completed almost 16 hours of yoga in 7 days. That gave me a total of 28 hours and 15 minutes of yoga in two weeks! I not only feel more flexible physically, but I feel as though my mind is lighter and more focused. I’ve been sleeping better since I started this routine, and I’ve gotten some pretty awesome muscles. I can almost… maybe… kind of see the beginning of abs. My posture has improved which I noticed driving home when I had to constantly adjust my rearview mirror because I was somehow taller. On top of all of that, I just feel better. Healthier, less stressed, and overall happier.

I’d highly recommend the 14 day yoga challenge for anyone who has been wanting to learn or get better. It wasn’t easy, and my body was so sore that I could feel muscles I never knew existed, but it was completely worth it.

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Michelle Della Giovanna

Writer at Full Time Explorer

I’m just your average New Yorker who quit her job in the fashion industry to explore the world. Come find out what it’s like to trade in five-inch heels for squat toilets.