I’ve never tried yoga before. I downloaded an app on my iPod many years ago thinking, “This is so accessible! It’s a free app, so I don’t have to leave home or spend money! Score!” It seemed like an amazing day. I tried it maybe once. You don’t have to say it; I’m a disappointment.

Since the downloading of the app years ago, I began a quest to consciously take a stand for my health and wellness. By no means was I completely failing and eating cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, it occurred to me that I should and could fuel my body versus just fill it with a meal. From there I took the next stepping stone from I’m attempting to fuel my body to I need to also make my body do some work.

I was doing a physical extracurricular at the time so that was a bonus on my list of things that got me off the couch. The “make my body do work” was really just small goals like make it to the gym at least once a week (it didn’t always happen). The biggest goal was take as many steps as possible towards 10,000. That has in the recent years been deemed this attainable and desirable goal. Some days I got very close, some I hit my mark, and some I didn’t come close at all.

Now I’m circling back to the idea of yoga. I feel as though I have heard more about yoga in the last year or so (maybe that’s just me). It’s supposed to help with strength and relaxing your mind and body. The idea of a stronger, more stress free life was intriguing. My thoughts went to the app that sits on the iPod collecting dust. As nice an idea as the app is, I know myself and didn’t see having the motivation to get going.

That’s when I remembered that YouTube isn’t just for watching your favorite music video 500 times in a row. I hit the internet, did a search for good yoga YouTube channels and voila! There were several articles which presented many options. I chose the one that seemed best for me and started the journey.

This channel has a beginners 30 day challenge that is designed to introduce you to yoga. It starts off very easy and doable. She progresses each day with a new pose and changes up the routine. They are 15 minutes which can fit into anyone’s busy schedule. There is this saying that if you can keep something up for 30 days it becomes a habit. Well, that’s my goal.

I haven’t been at it long, but I already feel better about my stress and strength. It may be my optimism seeping in, but I’m going with it. While I’m doing the videos I honestly feel more relaxed. You focus on breathing and letting tension go. This small daily act is helping to bring more peace in my personal life. I hope that I can keep it up. Maybe by the end I’ll find that it’s just not for me and that’s okay. However, I do hope that I find more peace.

So if you are looking to shake up your routine or destress a little bit of your life, maybe hit YouTube and try it out. You may be surprised at what you find.