July 10, 2015
Megan Stokes: For years I had a really active outdoors job. I danced and swam every week. But after moving to Boston and taking a desk job 7 years ago, I found myself with less and less time to move my body. Like most of us, I really felt myself carrying a lot of extra weight after an indulging during the holidays this past December.
That’s when I decided to turn things around. I cut unhealthy foods out of my diet and scaled back my drinking. I set a goal of doing yoga every single day for a month starting on New Year’s Day. At first, ten minutes of yoga felt like a chore and my body just couldn’t seem to move the right way. Then slowly, over time, and guided on by an awesome yoga youtube series (YogaWithAdriene.com), my body began to crave it. Positions that once felt out of reach, inch by inch became more possible. The shoulder stand became my holy grail. Every day for two months I kicked my feet up in the air and stood on my head only to fall down seconds later. Now, I can stand on my head as long as I’d like – even on a windy beach!
We’re at July now, and I’m still doing yoga every day. My body is stronger than ever and it’s inspired me to try new things like rock climbing and back-packing. Next up is running a 5K, which I’ve never done before, but I figure it’s just like a headstand: with daily practice I can do it.