My life changed in a big way. It started 365 days ago. I couldn’t sleep at night. My back hurt so much I could barely move by the end of the day, let alone sleep. The stress of work and family, and losing four loved one's in six months, only made it worse. My body hurt and my brain wouldn’t shut off so junk food and beer became my staples. As you can imagine one unhealthy meal and a beer lead to another and last January, I found myself 30-pounds overweight—my heaviest—and depressed. My creativity dried up like Lake Travis during a drought and I wrote nothing for the first time in almost four years.

Something needed to change. I knew this. The pain in my back and ribs became the one thing strong enough to break through the doom and gloom and motivate me towards making a change. Those of you with chronic pain might know what I am talking about—when you hit the point where you will do anything, just to have a pain free moment. Yoga seemed like a good way to start and my doctors always recommended it for my scoliosis. It’s low impact, you don’t need a lot of equipment, and there are millions of free yoga videos on YouTube. After trying out a few videos, specifically for back pain, I found the Yoga with Adrianne channel. The True 30-day program appealed to my competitive nature.

I decided to “game” myself into a new healthy habit. I channeled my inner determined gal to complete 30-days in a row of yoga. This decision changed my life. Even with my full-time job, a special needs child, and high needs toddler only in a part-time pre-school I made it work by getting up at 5:30 every morning. Every. Morning. It didn’t matter if I was sick or tired or overwhelmed. I still made it to the mat every single day. When the 30-days ended, I couldn’t quit. So I kept going. My new goal became 100-days. Then when I surpassed that goal I figured I might as well keep going. Now it’s been a year and I can’t image quitting. I did yoga with kidney stones, on vacation, with colds, with sinus infections, in front of the women’s bathroom while camping with cub scouts, etc.…. Nothing got in the way. It became so ingrained in my mind that skipping it would be like skipping brushing my teeth. I don’t even put it on my daily to-do-list, because it’s something I know take for granted. My daily yoga practice changed me from the inside out, which is why I love it so much. It’s not just stretching, or working out; it connects your mind, body, and spirit. This journey helped to show me what I could do if I put my mind to it. It showed me how easy it can be to live your best life, be your best self, and inspire others to do the same.

So how did a year of daily yoga change my life?

1. I lost 29lbs
2. I put on muscle mass (I have arm muscles for the first time!!)
3. My back and rib pain went away
4. My balance improved (no more tripping over my two left feet)
5.  It reduced my stress levels and made me a better mom to my boys
6. It improved my relationships across the board

It pushed me to better myself in other ways too:

1. I do daily meditation
2. I improved my diet (no more sugar or processed foods) and eventually transitioned to being plant-based.
3. I read daily affirmations and my personal mission statement
4. I run three times a week
5. I work out with a neighbor two times a week
6. I write 10- things a day I‘m grateful for

These changes didn't happen over night. Little by little the daily practice brought a peace and wholeness to my life that I'd been missing. It took hard work, but the gains made it all worthwhile. What are you putting off doing for yourself? Why don’t you start today? What’s holding you back?

Do you want to start your own change During the last year I read a lot of books that helped me with my journey. These three made the biggest impact and might help you on your personal journey:

• We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere
• The Gratitude Diaries
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Follow my journey on Instagram.