Today was the first day of the 40 Days to Personal Revolution program at my yoga studio. This afternoon, I headed over to the studio for the first meeting, where we received our materials, met one another, and learned more about the program. There were about thirty of us huddled in the room, each eager, for one reason or another, to get started on the journey.

I’ve debated about just how much I’m going to share about my experience here on the blog. I strongly feel that in order for me to make the most of the 40 days, I need to keep some of it private, but I will share what I can and try to answer any questions you might have along the way.

For starters, I can tell you how the program is set up. Some of you said you wished your own studio had a program like this. Good news, you can do it on your own at home. The program is based on the book 40 Days to Personal Revolution by Baron Baptiste.

The book has all the information you need so that you can do the whole thing alone! Of course, you wouldn’t get the weekly meetings and support system of 30 other people, but you could do it. There are also a few additional things we get by doing the program. For example, next week, a nutritionist is going to speak with us about some of the dietary issues brought up in the book.

Each week is made up of four components: (1) asana, (2) breath and meditation, (3) diet, and (4) journal work. A theme is developed using these four components each week. This week’s theme is presence, so during the meditation for the week, I am supposed to try my best to concentrate on my breathing when my mind wanders.

I think the thing I like the best about the program is there is no shocking dunk into freezing colder water. Instead, you are eased into everything. The end goal for meditating, for example, is two 30-minute sessions each day. But instead of throwing that at you, this week, the meditation is for just five minutes in the morning and five minutes before bed. It’s hard to sit still and quiet the mind for five minutes, but it’s a doable amount.

I can also tell you what I said when it was my turn to introduce myself and explain why I decided to participate. There are a lot of reasons I wanted to do this, but I only gave two in the meeting.

After confessing my Diet Pepsi problem, I explained that I am enduring some professional stresses and need to focus my energies on what to do next. What was interesting was that each person had their own reasons for being there, but I could relate to almost everyone’s unique goals.

Week 1 is off to a wonderful start!