Done! 30-day yoga challenge to overcome your inner laziness

Dear friends, hands up, who considers themselves undisciplined?
*pointing with both hands* ME!
Unfortunately, I am far from self-disciplined. Anything that I am not immediately enthusiastic about or that I am really forced to do, I can ignore with remarkable nonchalance. The positive thing about this is that I don't force myself to do things that are boring, pointless or bad for me. The downside is that I still haven't run a half marathon, can only go two days without sugar, and don't even have a bachelor's degree after starting (and dropping out of) two degrees.
None of this keeps me awake at night, but I would still like to have a little more willpower sometimes. So I'm trying a challenge that I usually stay away from (for the reasons mentioned above). Namely, a 30-day yoga challenge with videos by Mady Morrison and Happy & Fit Yoga mit Karo Wagner.

If you're wondering what yoga has to do with my travel blog, it's quite simple: yoga → fitter → more flexible → healthier → slimmer → better travel photos of me. 😁
A little joke on the side.
No, the 30-day yoga challenge has little to do with my travel blog, but rather with me personally. I have a sedentary job and would like to do more for my office chair-affected body. In addition, I am currently on a journey to become fitter, to improve my physical well-being. Nevertheless, I would like to report on it.

1. to improve my endurance
2. to provide readers who are also interested in a 30-day yoga challenge with a report on my experiences.
3. just because I would like to prove it to myself.

My reward for completing the challenge

Yes, it's true, you could say ‘the new attitude to life that yoga brings is reward enough’. You could. But I don't. Instead, once I've successfully completed the course, I'm going to buy myself a really chic yoga mat: large, soft and beautifully colourful. After all, that will increase my motivation to continue training, won't it?

The 30-day yoga challenge: Let's get started!

As mentioned above, I chose Mady Morrison and Karo Wagner from among the many yoga gurus on the internet. I really liked their videos and they explain things very well (in German), although Karo Wagner's videos are a little less challenging for beginners than Mady Morrison's. My husband (note 2025: ex-husband) is also involved, as it's easier to stick with it when you do it together.

Week 1 of the 30-day yoga challenge

Day 1:
Yoga Rücken Anfänger Programm
The video is only 22 minutes long, which is fine with me. The yoga programme itself is even shorter. I roll out my yoga mat in the living room and set up the TV. The dog has no idea why I'm sitting on the floor and attacks me with wet kisses. Yuck! So, I push the dog off the mat, sit cross-legged (God, it's uncomfortable) and off we go.
20 minutes later: THAT WAS SO WONDERFUL! Absolutely fantastic. My back doesn't feel any better immediately, but I'm walking more upright and feel completely relaxed. I love that voice.

Day 2:
Yoga für Entspannung und Beweglichkeit
I brought forward the 40-minute programme reserved for the weekend because I didn't go running. Very nice! Very relaxing, time flies by.

Day 3:
6x Sonnengruß & After Work Yoga
We started the day with 6 sun salutations. It only takes 10 minutes and is a great way to get going in the morning. In the evening, I finally went running again, and it was really exhausting. I did a yoga routine to stretch. After-work yoga is exhausting; I was sweating buckets. Next time after running, I'll do something more relaxed.

Day 4:
Entspannung unterer Rücken
Flea market from 2:30 to 12:30. *sigh* Relaxation yoga for the back in the evening after carrying boxes.

Day 5:
Schulter- und Nackenentspannung
Yoga in the garden on the lawn – what a treat! It's completely different from doing it in the confined space in front of the TV at home. We do it more often when we have time!

Day 6:
Skipped. 🙁
Today I left the flat at 6:30 a.m. and came home at 10 p.m. with a headache. Off to bed – the yoga universe will have to do without me today.

Day 7:
Happy & Fit Challenge Woche 3
Garden yoga with my friend Beatrice. Instead of Mady Morrison's rather challenging Mountain Flow session, we opted for Karo Wagner. Wonderful, yoga in the open air!

Conclusion of week 1:

It's going great! So far, I haven't had to force myself to do a yoga session because it's so wonderfully relaxing (despite the strenuous exercises). Afterwards, I always feel good, walk more upright and am also more relaxed.

Week 2 of the 30-day yoga challenge

Day 8:
Yoga Anfänger #2
My week 2 began with Yoga Beginners #2. A great programme, but not possible without breaking a sweat.

Day 9:
A video with Karo Wagner
Phew, at this point I should know which one it was. But I did it, I promise! I don't remember anymore... (note: write it down next week!)

Day 10:
4x Sonnengruß B  & 6x Sonnengruß A
I've become a real fan of sun salutations. So let's get started with sun salutation B. OMG. It's really exhausting! Great, but sweaty!

Day 11:
6x Sonnengruß A
Again. How tedious. However, on this particular day, we arrived at our seaside holiday destination in Croatia after a six-hour drive, and I simply needed to relax and stretch a little before enjoying my first welcome-to-holiday drink.

Day 12:
Yoga Anfänger #2
Morning yoga on the terrace overlooking the sea. It could be worse. And the neighbours had been warned about my antics. Even though I repeated the beginner's programme again... who cares! 🙂

Day 13:
Entspannung für den unteren Rücken
Repeat of the programme from the first week. I've completed the second day of my Rescue Diver course, and it's pretty demanding. Especially when diving, of course, there's a lot of lugging around... so this video is really helpful.

Day 14:
Skipped. 🙁
But: I have an excuse. I am now officially a certified rescue diver, yay! 🙂 And of course, right after the course ended, a shandy was in order to celebrate, and it didn't stop at just one. Well...

Conclusion of week 2:

It's still going well. I actually thought it would be difficult on holiday, but thanks to the beautiful terrace, I always look forward to the yoga sessions. What I love: most programmes last between 20 and 30 minutes, but they really fly by. And thanks to Mady's pleasant voice and the wonderful final relaxation, you always feel good even after short sessions.

Week 3 of the 30-day yoga challenge

Day 15:
Yoga für Anfänger #2
Let's start week 3 with motivation! I can't believe the challenge is going by so quickly! As of today, I am no longer practising yoga alone here in Croatia. My diving buddy Marianne was thrilled to hear that I was doing yoga on the terrace with a sea view and immediately joined me. So from now on, I'll be getting up at 6:35 every day before diving and hitting the mat at 6:45. To get started, I'll be doing my all-time favourite, Yoga Beginner #2.

Day 16:
Entspannung unterer Rücken
Not for the first time, either. But both Marianne and I need it. The mattresses take some getting used to, as does my sleep, unfortunately, and diving doesn't make it any better... But still: motivated yoga at 6:45 a.m. continues.

Day 17:
Entspannung & Selbstliebe
What a relaxing yoga programme. Just wonderful for a gentle wake-up. We are sooo tired...

Day 18:
6x Sonnengruß A
Short programme on Sunday, departure day from Croatia. I'm not going diving anymore; we want to head home right after breakfast because we're worried about traffic jams. Marianne still has to pack and then goes on the boat for her last dive. Time is tight, but luckily there's the sun salutation to wake us up.

Day 19:
Skipped. 🙁
Back home after my first day at work and a sleepless night, I am so tired that all I can manage to do in the evening is lie down on the sofa and pretend to be dead.

Day 20:
Yoga gegen Rückenschmerzen
I'm still not getting much sleep, but at least I'm feeling motivated again. My girlfriend Beatrice and I treat ourselves to a long, 44-minute yoga routine in the garden in beautiful weather. Man, we're both tired, but it feels great to have done it again.

Day 21:
Sonnengruß Routine & Sommerbody Flow
The last day of week 3 and I'm feeling super motivated: I start with the sun salutation routine, a mix of my beloved sun salutation A and the more strenuous sun salutation B, and continue with the summer body flow. As the name suggests, it's exhausting! Tomorrow I'll have deluxe abs soreness, that's for sure...!

Conclusion of week 3:

My downward dog is already much better, and I also notice that my legs are significantly more flexible. In addition, I can now switch off really quickly and think of nothing during yoga sessions. I am slowly becoming confident that I will continue with the same motivation and frequency after the challenge ends.

Week 4 and the last 2 days of the 30-day yoga challenge

Day 22:
Mady’s Yoga Morgenroutine
Get up at 6 a.m. and do yoga? Why not! Honestly, it's really wonderful to start the day like this, especially when I have eight hours of sitting at a desk and in an office chair ahead of me.

Day 23:
Warrior Flow
The Warrior Flow is quite challenging, especially because of the pace Mady sets here. You definitely have to do it more often to really get into it. Still, the Warrior poses are just great, they make you feel so good. 😁

Day 24:
Skipped. 🙁
It's Saturday, I've just been to a company garden party and I'm glad I've made it from my bed to the sofa.

Day 25:
Yoga gegen Rückenschmerzen
Since it's Sunday and I skipped yesterday, today I'm doing the 44-minute session for back pain, and it's wonderful. My annoying neck tension was actually a little better afterwards and gone the next day.

Day 26:
Entspannung & Antistress
It was hot and humid outside, and it was Monday anyway. I needed something cosy, and this is really the perfect yoga video for that!

Day 27:
Yoga Hüftöffner
Today I had a very valuable experience: if you just don't feel like it and somehow manage to force yourself to go through with the yoga programme, it doesn't do any good. I didn't feel like it for a second, every exercise was too long and too tedious for me, and I was just glad when it was over. Funnily enough, I was even less flexible than usual. Note to self: you have to be mentally open for yoga.

Day 28:
Stretch & Relax
Finally, the first cooler day in a long time. But as pleasant as the temperatures are, it's boring to have to do yoga in the living room again.

Day 29:
Sanftes Abend-Yoga
The penultimate day has arrived, I can hardly believe it. To finish off, a relaxing programme to help you get to sleep.

Day 30 - FINAL!
Yoga at Pulsatori
To conclude my 30-day programme, I treat myself to a yoga session at the Pulsatori yoga studio in Wels. ‘Mindful yoga’ was on the agenda: 90 minutes of stretching accompanied by Tanja's wonderful voice, followed by a dream journey and rounded off with brunch at an Indian restaurant.

CONCLUSION OF THE CHALLENGE

I actually did it! I stuck with yoga for 30 days 🙂 I skipped once a week, but that's totally fine with me.
I will definitely continue with it, but I will also visit a yoga studio occasionally. I think that if you don't do that, you simply get used to incorrect postures, and besides, the intensity is completely different from doing yoga at home in front of the television.
I can only recommend everyone to try a challenge too. I found it relaxing, wonderful for my back and a good way to ‘switch off’.

Namasté!