On Day 21 of the 30 Day Challenge, I came down with a horrible flu. And then I aggravated it with over-exertion, lack of sleep, and emotional stress (but I won't get into that here). The night the virus took over, my immune system was already shot. For two consecutive high-stress work days, I was running on just 3 hours of sleep and adrenaline. By the afternoon of the second day, I OD'd on caffeine and with a double espresso cheering me on, I showed up at the studio feeling pumped. I attended class. MISTAKE.
Half-way through, my body gave out; I got chills (in a heated room, that's messed up), my joints ached, my head throbbed, my eyes watered, and I thought I was going to pass out during Savasana.
I was sick for a week.
Lying in bed, the one thing I kept thinking about was the 30 Day Challenge and how badly I had wanted to get back on the mat and finish it! I stuffed myself with all the healthiest food--soup, veggies, citrus fruits, fish, ginger tea, whole grains, and a whole lot of Biogesic and Neozep. But nothing gave me the quick fix I wanted. I had no choice but to surrender and say no to yoga.
Lesson learned:
Listen to your body. If you refuse to give your body the rest hours it deserves, it will eventually get pikon and refuse to function. I've always had a tendency to neglect my health whenever something "more important" took precedence. Which is like, always. That's why my master plan for 2014 was to
put my health first. And that's why I committed to yoga. But I guess you can't departmentalize the many things that make up a healthy lifestyle. I can't exercise if I'm not getting enough sleep and nutrition. So the diet, the sleep, the emotional wellness, and the yoga have to go together.
This brings me to why I'm embarking on a
100 Days of Healthiness challenge! I still want to be 100% committed to yoga, but I also want to make sure I support my commitment with other healthy lifestyle decisions. Everyday for 100 days, I am going to eat right, get enough sleep, strive for "emotional soundness", and do yoga. Here are my terms:
For 100 days, from April 2- July 10, I will:
- Attend 90 Bikram yoga classes. Automatically I get 10 VLs. :) Since the studio does challenges in multiples of 30, I decided to keep it at 90. I am totally allowed vacations and rest days, I'm just going to keep track of them and do doubles to make up for it.
- Ban refined sugars and artificial sweeteners. This does not mean I'm going to deprive myself of sweets. I can still eat tons of desserts! I can have muscovado, honey, and all the fruit I want. This just keeps me away from lots of junk food, sodas, juice concentrates, 3-in-1 coffee, and flavored lattes.
Oh, flavored lattes. This will be the toughest goodbye. For the past three years I've been running on Starbucks Irish Cream and Asian Dulce lattes, which are delicious and wonderful because of the espresso shots and syrup. But this love affair has to come to an end... for the greater good. I am officially switching to tea and brewed coffee. The Misto is my new best friend. *Thank you for introducing us, Sheng.
- Make the healthier choice. (Honesty policy applies.) I don't want to follow a strict diet or rule out carbs. I'm done with that craziness. Instead, I'll just make the healthiest choice whenever I'm presented with options. I'll keep the ref filled with foods that are "as close to the ground as possible" --meaning unprocessed, natural ingredients. I still want to eat out with friends, so I'll just make it a point to select the healthiest thing on the menu.
And this doesn't just apply to food, it applies to total wellness. If it's a toss up between staying up an extra hour to work/browse the net/ watch one more episode/ have one more beer (ok, I shouldn't be having beer) and getting enough sleep -- I will choose sleep. If the multi-tasking gets so out of hand that it threatens my sanity, I will choose my sanity. Like any normal person should.
- Do at least one thing everyday that makes me feel healthy, young, energized, empowered, pampered, or beautiful. This is me taking care of me. Because I deserve it!
The one good thing about getting sick is that my body tends to reset, and I find it easier to make changes. So I'm counting on that as I begin this challenge. Why am I starting on April 2? So that the 2-month mark will fall on my 23rd birthday. Woot woot! So excited. And my expectation of course, is that 100 Days of Healthiness will automatically result in 100 Days of Happiness. :)
Sheng is going to join me on this challenge after Holy Week, so watch out for her posts, too!
LET'S DO THIS.
-Dawn
