Bloomington's Co-op Yoga Studio

"I feel great! Yoga is a cornerstone of my mental-health routine. I noticed that practicing multiple days in a row had exponential mental-health benefits for me. Especially after the third day in a row, I would notice feeling highly relaxed and very calm. I think the frequency also helped deepen my Savasana meditations. I was able to drop into meditation much more quickly and stay there longer without distraction. Physically, I think I deepened my understanding of poses by practicing so consistently. I feel very strong and more confident attempting difficult poses. I also really appreciated being at Ekah so much and being surrounded by the loving community there. It is such a welcome respite from the cold doldrums of winter here. It was challenging to fit in so much yoga alongside my full-time school and part-time jobs (not to mention friends and volunteer commitments), but the challenge (and the reward of a badly-needed haircut) kept me going. I'd seen many Strive for Fives come and go at Ekah without even thinking I could pull it off. I'm so glad I did it. A great way to ring in 2019. I'd absolutely do it again!"

"Integrating the challenge into my weekly schedule is my secret to making the challenge work. It does take some dedication to put off other activities I might prefer to do after work, but it gave me something to look forward and made my day full and complete. I was motivated to do this challenge again because I knew June was going to be a stressful month for me at work. I wanted to make sure I had something during my personal time that would mark it as distinct from the environment that was causing me stress. Advice I would give to someone starting the challenge for the first time is to figure out which classes work best for your schedule, both in terms of timing and type of practice, and sign up for these classes well in advance. Program them into your calendar before the start of the challenge. You’ll be far more committed to attending if you’re already signed up.

My forever-favorite yoga pose is happy baby."

"After the first week, continuing the challenge was easy. I felt so good physically and mentally that I kept wanting to go to classes. I noticed that whenever my mind wandered during the day, I was able to pull my focus back to the task on hand easier. I lost about 4 pounds over the month and my core is stronger than it has ever been in my life! I would definitely do it again and encourage others to make the time for themselves each week."