After reading one of my favorite bloggers nhershoes I decided to commit to the 31 Yoga Challenge! I started doing yoga late 2009 after a trainer told me I needed to stretch more. Before getting into yoga, stretching was one of my least favorite parts of exercising. I just wouldn’t do it. But now I see that it’s extremely important and neccessary to any training program. I continued doing yoga regularly as preparation for my first ING Half Marathon this past March.

The rules for the challenge are fairly simple: For each day to qualify you have to complete 20 minutes of structured yoga

I usually do a yoga dvd or take instruction from the comfort of my home from Sadie Nardini who is an NYC instructor. I’ve also taken Core Fusion at Exhale Atlanta. I refer to this book for pose names and great illustrated photos of postures, movements and breathing techniques. I purchased it on Amazon.

Here are a few reasons why I’m committing to this challenge:

1. I miss the focus I had during my morning yoga sessions earlier this year – I used to start my day off relaxed and refreshed when I made time for yoga, I want to go back to that.

2. It’s cold outside – doing yoga in the morning at the start of my day helped me move a little faster and warmed my body up tremendously

3. The word challenge – I love trying new things and taking on a new challenge, this seems like the perfect one to take on during this period of hustle and bustle for the holidays.

4. I want to improve my flexibility – I’m semi flexible, but it could be much better!

5. It’s almost time to train again – I plan to do at least 1 half marathon in 2011! Doing this challenge is a great way to transition back into the “running routine”

So, tomorrow, it all begins! I’m excited. Are you taking on any new challenges to close out 2010?