Rochelle and her coworkers at a lunchtime yoga class.

When my friend Mary asked me if I was interested in signing up for a 40-day yoga challenge, I hesitated for only one minute before saying “absolutely”. I had already put it out there to the world, posted for all to see on the goal wall at work, that I would commit to doing yoga two times a week. And since I hadn’t yet met my goal, or even started it, I figured Mary’s invitation was simply the universe conspiring to help me achieve my goal. I knew I needed to do this.

tip 1: do it with friends

Inviting others keeps you accountable, so I invited my team, People Potential, to take on the challenge too. What better way to achieve my goal than with awesome people striving for the same thing? Some of us are doing the full 40-day challenge, some are committed to doing yoga every day for a month, and some are simply sweating once a day. The challenges may be in different forms, but the objective is the same: to step out of our comfort zones and do something different.

tip 2: track your progress in public

We have a chart on the wall where we’re tracking our progress -- a happy face sticker for every time we practice yoga or sweat. How inspiring to see my coworkers grab their yoga mats from under their desks to head off to a noon yoga class, or to receive the morning emails from our remote team members letting me know they hit their goals the day before and to request a new sticker next to their name.

tip 3: the best gift to yourself

For me, I’m now back in love with yoga. Making the time for myself to connect my body, my mind, and my heart has been the best gift I could give myself. Here’s to more happy faces, more sweating, and many more downward dogs!

Have you ever participated in a yoga challenge? What did you learn?