I completed my first Sadhana and I really enjoyed the experience! If you missed my post explaining it, check that out here: https://livinwiththelehnhoffs.com/2014/05/23/want-to-change-your-life/. In that post I said that I had decided that for 10 days I would do 5 sun salutations every morning and another 5 every evening. And in case you aren’t familiar with what a sun salutation is, you can read about that here: http://yogasite.com/sunsalute.htm. Anyhow, here are a few notes on my experience:

• 10 days was the perfect length of time for me. It wasn’t too long in that it seemed unattainable or daunting upon getting started, but it was just long enough for me to get over the adjustment period of change and actually get me hooked and develop new healthy habits! Score!
• I journaled each day about the experience, writing how the sun salutations felt physically (were my legs tight, back sore, etc), and how I felt having done them that day and just how the day went in general (mental aspect). This helped me feel committed to the practice and also feel achievement that I was succeeding at what I set out to do.
• I felt more aware of my daily choices (nutrition, patience with the kids, when to let things go and not stress, etc). Almost just to be able to always have an eye on the “big picture” instead of getting wrapped up in small, sometimes useless and/or unnecessary details.
• It encouraged me to want to continue trying to better myself (I started reading a chapter every night from a new book I got on meditation, and I have been brainstorming other Sadhana ideas as I want to keep trying new ones, continually evolving to become the best mother, daughter, wife, friend, etc that I can be).
• All this said, a small change can have a significant and positive imprint on your life if you let it. You control your own destiny – make it what you want! Slowly and patiently continue your evolution to where you want to be and what you want for your life.

And I actually continued my daily sun salutation practice, even after the 10 days were over. Since then, I’ve made it a part of my daily routine that I have come to crave. I only missed one day because we were up late at a wedding and then slept in the next morning, and I could tell and missed it! And also, I have upped it to 10 sun salutations now each morning and evening which is the perfect amount. It still only usually takes me 10-15 minutes which is a pretty quick and a great way to start and finish my day.

Now I have started a second Sadhana upon the completion of the first one. I had been feeing sluggish and tired when exercising and felt like I might not be drinking enough water each day (I blame the kids for keeping me too busy, haha). I decided that I would drink at least 80 oz per day, and I’ve been hitting upwards of 100 oz on average. I do feel better, especially running. And OF COURSE, there is an app for this. Several actually, but I did find one that I like and track my hydration throughout the day. It’s called Waterlogged.

I saw that a few of my friends reposted about doing a Sadhana which was pretty exciting! Feel free to share your experience – I would love to hear! And if any of you need ideas, feel free to contact me and I can brainstorm with you!