My 100-Day Project

30-day yoga challenges and lessons I hope to bring to journaling every day

My former counselor-turned-life coach encouraged me to get a Groupon for unlimited yoga classes for a month. I was trying to make sense of my life after I blew it up. It was a couple of years after my mom died, and I was going through a breakup.

I drove to yoga classes twice a week and basked in my newfound sense of empowerment. After my pass expired, I signed up for a YMCA membership and took classes there, but sitting in traffic to get to the yoga class after work didn’t make sense to me.

That’s where Yoga with Adriene came in. I decided that a home practice was a better fit for me. I didn’t have to rush to get to a studio. I could do downward dog from the comfort of my home.

Every year, I participate in Yoga with Adriene’s 30-Day Yoga Challenge. During the first year, I woke up at 5 am to get my practice in before work. I’m not sure what prompted me to start.

I guess I started the challenge because I wanted to deepen my practice. I wanted to see what I was capable of. I wanted to get better.

Of course, just like any other challenge, the process wasn’t linear. There were some days I didn’t want to roll out my mat. I didn’t always practice at the same time every day. Some days I practiced early in the morning before work, and other days I practiced when I got home from work.

The challenge was easy when I didn’t have competing priorities or when I wasn’t sick. When I missed a few days, I asked a friend if I should continue or start completely over. He said I should begin again on Day 1.

The idea of starting from scratch felt self-punishing and rigid. It wasn’t boot camp. If I started on Day 1, I would’ve felt discouraged. I wouldn’t have wanted to continue the challenge.

I learned that if I fell off, I could begin again. Not from scratch but as a continuation. I fell in love with the peace and joy the practice brought me. I fell in love with my body for what it could do. The lessons I learned on the mat helped me to overcome the challenges I faced off the mat.

For my next challenge, I’m completing Suleika Jaouad’s 100-day journaling project from her book, The Book of Alchemy. She recruited 100 writers and artists to contribute essays and prompts. You read the essay every day and write using the prompt as inspiration.

I want to apply the same lessons I learned from my former challenge to this one. When perfectionism rears its ugly head, I’m going to remind myself of this simple mantra: “You get to have fun.” It doesn’t have to be either/or. I either complete the challenge or I don’t. I’m eager to discover myself on the page.

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Update from the editor:

It’s been 30 days since I started the 100-day project, and I’m having so much fun. I’m leaning into what my soul wants to write instead of overthinking and trying to control the creative process. Every day, I look forward to reading the essays and journaling. This journey hasn’t been linear. I missed a couple of days because I was sick, but I just doubled up on the prompts and continued writing.

I encourage you to work on your own 100-day project, whether you decide to get a copy of The Book of Alchemy or draw every day for 100 days. Tap into your creativity. See what’s possible when you give yourself space to dream and wonder.