In July, I set myself a 30 sweat challenge – basically 30 days of movement with enough intensity to produce spontaneous perspiration 🙂  This is particularly significant for me – I have had the habit and the liking to move my body on a regular basis since my 20s.  And yet, I juggle a business, a fairly robust social and personal life and my own spiritual practice – so sometimes movement with intention falls off the map!
It is easier to spend those extra 30 minutes immersed in a client call or a juicy conversation and hold off rolling out the yoga mat for the day. Â So I wanted to see how it would feel to move pretty much every day – making intention, movement and breath the priority for a month. Â And here is how the month panned out: Â over 31 days, I ended up with a total of 27 sweats.
Here are some of my takeaways:
- When you practice discipline out of your own volition, it motivates and energizes in all areas of your life. I felt that I created content, cooked and made time for stillness too with the same consistency
- Practiced with gentleness, self-discipline resembles rhythm. I began to notice that this rhythm is evident in nature too – sunrise and sunset, moon phases, animal and bird patterns and the flowering of plants are all examples!
- To ensure that self-discipline settles into a rhythm, a month is not enough. I did not feel that the rhythm settled completely. So, I plan to continue this process for another month so see how it progresses.
- Specifically for the sweat challenge, I see the value of working out at the same time everyday as it builds ease. After the 3rdday, the body-mind falls into auto-mode making the workout flow. And I also see the beauty of shifting it around – the change in the way of working out or a change in time makes the brain work a bit harder, and keeps the attention sharp. So, for me, both are possible!
Finally, more than learning, I am amazed at the joy this process has created in my life – I have made new connections and began many meaningful conversations and the magic keeps unfolding.
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