I survived 30 days in a row of hot yoga: The sweaty truth!

I’m a TV and Digital Content Creator and Producer who has practiced yoga for over 20 years. I’ve done all kinds of yoga from the athletic Ashtanga or Power Yoga, the more traditional Hatha Yoga, to the yoga I have embraced for the last five years and that is Hot or Modo Yoga.

I love my studio. It is my religion, my sanctuary and my community. It’s really my safe haven and my home away from home.

My church or synagogue is my yoga studio — it’s where I find my faith, my belonging and inner peace. When I am lying on my mat in shivasanah, no matter how tired or stressed or anxious I was before I got there, it all evaporates and I just feel at peace and at one with the universe.

But yoga for 30 days in a row? I always considered it, but I always gave myself an out, because I had no time, was too busy and maybe didn’t think I could really do it. It makes me very emotional because self-care has to be my number one priority and it never has been and I knew that I had to make it a priority now. I had to make a comittment to my health and to my wellness. I wanted to prevent the cold rather than cure it. So I did.

My yoga teacher asked me if I was going to do the 30 day Modo challenge, (which means you do a hot yoga class every day for a minimum of 25 days out of 30) and my first answer was a resounding, “no! I don’t have time to do this.” And then, I went home and thought about it, meditated on it, and finally something inside of me shifted, and I realized that I had to do it because I had to start making my health a top priority before work, social commitments and everything. The time was now!

I’m not going to pretend that this was easy. Navigating how to fit a class in every day into my schedule, whether it was early in the morning or the last class at night, was a real challenge. That was even more challenging than the actual classes themselves. But I put on my Lululemons every day religiously, flung my yoga bag over my shoulder and ran to my car and went to class. Sometimes I dreaded it more than anything. Other days I looked forward to it. And when I was in Dancer’s Pose, even in a particularly challenging class, where the temperature was over 100 degrees, and I really wasn’t feeling it and I was so exhausted just from work and life, suddenly in that moment I felt strong, healthy, alive and proud of myself for being there. And then, afterwards lying on my fuscia yoga mat, I would instantly and completely relax and really feel at peace and in my bliss, as it were. (I also surprised myself by not only doing 25 days in a row, but doing the full 30 days and exceeding even the studio’s expectations and my own!)

Walking down the street after a class, I felt that I was glowing, and the reason is because it was radiating from the inside out. I would feel a burst of positive energy and I actually felt more equipped to tackle the day and deal with curveballs with a sense of calm and confidence. And besides, my reward was always the shower afterwards, and I must confess a few times I even splurged on my favourite sushi!

I recommend this to everyone. Not just practicing yoga every day, but practicing self-care and making your health a top priority, so that you can become a better version of yourself and be of greater service to everyone in your life.