Hello friends! I am writing to you from the sun porch of my parents’ house in Chicago. It is 19 degrees here, but the sun is shining and I have a big cup of coffee and a golden retriever at my side, and so I am a happy camper.

So my 25 days of yoga didn’t go as planned (does anything?) but I am happy to report that I am OK with that. So what happened? Well, I missed my first day because I was out too late for a holiday party – which I have mixed feelings about. I think that holidays should be fun, but obviously health should come first, so I think there needs to be a sense of balance in both things so that my exercise doesn’t fall aside when the busy season rolls around.

Then, as is frequent during this season, I got sick, and it was all over. I could barely breath, work, sleep, and pack for the Midwest, let alone also add in yoga, so I didn’t. I listened to my body, rested, slept, and headed to see my family.

I started up my yoga again yesterday, newly healthy from my bout with a terrible cold, and it felt good to be back – especially because this cold made me very achy. I hope to get yoga in a few more days while I am here on vacation, but I am not going to sweat it. I am going to set up another 25 day challenge, and while I might not complete that, either, that is OK. Doing your best is sometimes the best you can do.

These challenges we set up for ourselves are a representation of who we want to be at our very best, but often are unreachable, or unrealistic. I am learning from this challenge, and think I’ll take a “25 days of yoga in 30 days” approach next time around, which is how the challenge works at my yoga studio – and now, I see why. Some days, when you’re home from work sick and just focused on getting up to drink enough water, yoga isn’t logical. Or a run, or a walk, or Pilates, or whatever your exercise is.

I also learned during this challenge that some days during the 12 days in a row I did yoga, that some days an hour and a half of yoga was what my body craved – and some days, I needed a 30 minute restorative-focused, meditative sort of class. And that’s what I love about yoga – it can be whatever you need it to be!

How about you guys – how are you with setting challenges for yourself? Do you set yourself up for failure, or do you do whatever it takes (other priorities be damned!) to get it done?