Full disclosure: I took on this challenge because I'm heading to a Level One week-long training with Baron next week and wanted to be fully prepared for the days physically, emotionally & spiritually. Originally my focus was mainly physical -- to practice Baptiste Yoga and prepare for the week. As the 40 Days went on, I got so much more than "preparation." My yoga wasn't perfect, I didn't do the fruit cleanse & I missed one of my small group calls, yet my commitment to working the program never waivered. My experience through the weeks:

week 1: presence

As the program started, I immediately recognized the largest piece of this program would be commiting to DOING the work. To create sustainable change, I needed to be fully in it. Whatever comes up, comes up. The laws, Seek the Truth & Be Willing to Come Apart set me up powerfully to know who I needed to be for myself throughout the process.

week 2: vitality

I went into deep inquiry into revealing vitality in my every day activities. Seeing where I am truly energized in daily life, and being ok to share that with others. I became present seeking the truth about what truly lights me up - not feeling bad because I am happy and loving every moment of my life when those around me may not be was uncomfortable. To say I was stepping Out of My Comfort Zone was an understatement.

week 3: equanimity

I learned a lot in this week. Please see the blog I shared.

week 4: restoration

Ahhh. I learned the beauty of not feeling the need to fill my weekend schedule & simply focus on how I'm feeling when I wake up, and not necessarily having to accomplish a laundry list of things. My weekend was fantastic! It also gave me space to reflect where in my life I have rocks that I have created weighing me down. As Baron writes, "Transformation comes not from adding things on but by removing what didn't belong there in the first place." Getting real & connected to my centre allowed the rocks to fall away. Through the longer meditation, the clutter began disappear.

week 5: centering

Looking me square in the face this week was Patience & Truth. Acknowledging everything I need to know is inside of me if I have the courage to listen and am willing to be truthful with myself & those around me. The truth really will set you free. This was a week of self realizations, lots of conversation and lots of tears through it all. It was perfect.

week 6: triumph

Celebrating with my small group on our final call was incredible. Hearing what everyone had learned & the shifts made was inspiring. Kinndli & Shelley were outstanding leaders who ensure each of us acknowledged ourselves all while recognizing the work does not stop.

in summary

My 40 Day Revolution was an incredible experience. Having my friends & colleagues along for the journey, meeting people from around the world in my small group & the support from the Baptiste team was awesome. I am excited to take myself on everyday as I continue my leadership work through yoga. Next week in Hawaii take me a little further along the path.

We want to hear from you. How was your experience? What did you learn? Would you do it again?

We're nearing the end of our 40-day adventure and this week's summary comes to you from Amanda, our Area Community Manager in New York who (in her words) "totally bombed" the challenge - and realized that was perfect.

meet amanda

name and role: Amanda Casgar, Area Community Manager
current hometown: New York City
random fact: I have an incredibly powerful sense of smell. If I had a superpower, it would be a bionic nose. Or to sniff out crime.
what did you learn this week? Wherever I am right now is perfect.
a word that describes your 40-day experience so far: Recommit.

what i learned this week..

I'm writing this on day 36 of a 40 day challenge and I want you to know that I had every intention of being the most committed yogi, grounded meditator and healthy eater for these last six weeks and totally bombed. And what I learned, is that my experience was perfect.

I may not have practiced every single day or meditated twice a day or said no to third glass of wine on Saturday night, and I was still doing the yoga. Yoga that showed up in conversations with my family, who I was being on the subway, how I connected in class, how I practiced at home.

Amanda and her mom!

It hit home that I’ve actually been in the yoga for years when I spoke to my mom the other day. I've had goals to rock a daily meditation practice for over a year and committed to this 40 day challenge knowing it would be the clincher. Following a morning when I did not meditate (I say this without judgement), my mom shared that she had started meditating. This revelation was like her head bursting into flames I was so surprised. I have asked my mom to join me for yoga and shared my love for meditation for years and thought it never landed.

“Oh yes! I’ve been meditating twice a day. I saw Deepak (Chopra) and Goldie (Hawn) on Katie (Couric) and they explained how to do it and how great it was so I've been doing it. You know how I love Goldie – she looks amazing! I sit with my feet on the ground and listen to my breath... I can feel my heart beat and everything. I feel really great.”

I was blown away. I had been making the daily practice hard and here my mom summed it up so easily. Feet on the ground, listen to my breath. Feel great.

So, Day 37, I’m coming for you, because every day I recommit and right now, that's perfect.

meet allison

name: Allison Forsyth
role at lululemon: Event manager
current hometown: Vancouver
random fact: My left lower leg is basically made of metal and before this challenge, I couldn’t sit cross-legged on the floor.
what did you learn this week: I learned the power of removing rocks and dropping stories.
two words that describes your 40-day experience so far: patience and clarity

this week i learned...

This week I learned: that I can do yoga. It’s a bold statement, I know, but as a on-the-mat, off-the-mat reluctant yogi in the past, I had never done more than 4 days of yoga in a row, let alone 40. With this week’s theme of restoration, I realized that I have had a yoga pattern in my life and created a story in my head that goes a little something like this: you are inflexible, have a bad knee, and are not good at yoga. As a former Olympic athlete, I don’t gravitate to things that I have decided I am not good at, so the journey on my mat has been challenging and has often felt inauthentic.

Baron writes, "and when patterns are broken, new worlds emerge."

This week, after 3 weeks of exploration and falling in love with my practice, (finally) I decided it was time. It was time to remove the rock of my yoga ability, to drop the story of my flexibility, and to step into my practice as something that is about me, not anyone else, but me. It doesn’t matter how it looks, and I have finally let go of what I thought yoga to be. Yoga is my place of restoration, my place of clarity, and where I can, with every breath, practice patience and acceptance.

new paths

When I was going up in to my fifth wheel a couple of days ago, I heard an audible “yes” escape from my throat, as I felt this incredible sense of accomplishment. I am opening my mind, strengthening my body, and forging a new path.

Let the new journey begin.

meet tracy

name: Tracy Keough
role at lululemon: Area Community Manager, North U.S.
current hometown: Vancouver
random fact: I grew up in Newfoundland.
what did you learn this week? Breathe, respond, don't react. Listen to what is in your heart.
a word that describes your 40-day experience so far: Deep inquiry

this week i learned...

I have been excited about this week since the 40 Days program began. Equanimity has been something that I have been striving to understand since I first practiced with Baron 3 years ago. He spoke to equanimity in class that day. I remember so clearly wondering the meaning of the word and his statements stayed with me long after that all-day immersion:

Can you simply be in this pose and face it as it comes? Be with whatever comes up, feel it and simply be with it, no reaction.

As we held the pose further, Baron said: notice how you are reacting to this pose. Where else in your life does this come up? How is who you are on your mat showing up in your life?

Uuuuh, do you mean the fact I am cursing you in my head right now dying to come out of this pose?!

Tracy Dhanurasana-ing at last week's Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco

three years later

I took this week on with a curious mind and open heart. I faced myself head on and had conversations that were tough and pushed me outside of my comfort zone. There were tears, moments of wanting to run and through it all I stayed with myself, understanding that this is true growth – this is equanimity. After all this time, it finally landed for me that equanimity is being in the eye of the storm, the middle of all the reactions and feelings and working with whatever comes up, what REALLY comes up -- tears, fear, fight, flight -- and breath by breath, being with it.

Then, Saturday morning I woke up to this quote staring straight at me:

"The longest road you will ever have to walk is from your head to your heart" ~ Chief Phil Lane Jr.

And it all came together for me. Equanimity is living what is in your heart - your absolute truth - and having the courage to trust. To be with it. It is uncomfortable to say what really needs to be said, revealing who I TRULY am, in my heart, from a deep place of knowing. It's scary, yet freeing all at the same time.

Truth. Trust. Love. That is what I learned this week. Thank you Baron.

meet danne

name: Danne Dzenawagis
role at lululemon: Boston-area lululemon educator
current hometown: Boston (by way of the sandy shores of Cape Cod)
random fact: I have a cat the size of a small bear
what did you learn this week? Sometimes it’s better to let go than to hold on.
a word that describes your 40-day experience so far: Questioning

this week i learned...

I have a bit of a confession to make...I’m not feeling the slightest bit of personal revolution thus far—in fact, I feel exactly the same as I did 2 weeks ago. I’m well aware that change doesn’t happen overnight, but that’s just it—what I’ve found with this program is that it isn’t much of a change from my normal life: I already have a well-established yoga practice, I’ve recently committed to (and have actually followed through with) meditating each day, eating clean is always a top priority of mine, and I’ve spent the past year or so inquiring within about a lot of the questions that Baron raises throughout the program.

Danne's cat is the size of a small bear

So...what does this mean? It means that maybe for once in my life I’m at a point where I don’t need a revolution. It means that all that work I’ve been doing has actually paid off, and ultimately it means that I’m ok—more than ok—right now, and that’s a pretty awesome thing to discover if you ask me.

We'd love to hear from other Digital 40 Day-ers out there. What have you learned? What (if anything) is challenging you? Use the #digital40days tag on twitter and instagram to stay connected and share an update on how things are going.

When's the last time you committed to something for 40 days? The Digital 40 Day Challenge - part yoga, part meditation, part personal revolution - is in full swing, and this week Parker from our Leadership Development team is here to recap her Week One experience. Read on for more!

meet parker

name: Parker Pearson
current role at lululemon: Leadership Development, Program Manager – Self Development
current hometown Vancouver, BC (originally from San Francisco, CA)
first yoga class It was 13 years ago. It was a Bikram class. I wore sweat pants and a leotard. The next day I wore my swimsuit.
random fact I once got pulled over for driving below the speed limit directly after a yoga class.
week one, in a word Observing.

this week i learned...

This week I observed myself flickering back and forth constantly:

• in my meditation practice from the "now" to planning
• in my asana practice from an inhale to distraction or worry about an old injury
• in my relationships from 100% of my attention on the conversation to spending mental energy on an unsolved issue
• in my food choices when I go from most nourishing to most convenient or habitual

I keep reminding myself, “right aim and right energy”. *

*p.99 40 Days to Personal Revolution

Where it’s time for me to take more responsibility isn’t in how I get my work done, but how I take care of myself and what I’ve been avoiding. I see that a new level of commitment to my practice and nourishment is needed if I’m going to truly thrive.

What did you learn or observe about yourself or your practice in Week One? What word summarizes your experience so far?

Let’s skip over the part where I talk about the indulgences of the holiday season and cliches about fresh starts: 2013 is almost here and a lot of us are looking for a meaningful way to start the new year. Enter: the Digital 40 Days program by Baron Baptiste. Move over, resolutions. It’s time for a revolution!

what is it?

Digital 40 Days goes from Jan. 7 - Feb. 15, 2013, and is a companion program to Baron’s book, 40 Days to Personal Revolution. Basically, you get your yoga on in whichever way works for you: your favourite studio, home practice, these yoga videos, or the podcasts that come with the program. Digital 40 Days provides:

- the structure
- the community
- the support
- resources including podcasts, emails, and meditations.

It doesn’t cost anything to join the program but there is an option to upgrade for a few extra advantages.

the good, the bad, the ugly?

Doing anything for 40 days is guaranteed to create a change, shift, or insight in some capacity, so we’ve got weekly contributors from across lululemon to recap their experience each Tuesday (starting Jan. 15) and tell it like it is.

Finally, here are a few questions we asked Baron Baptiste about the program:

why 40 days?

Forty days is the time it takes to build an entirely new set of habits and practices to train and rewire your mind and body. This program is built from a foundation of commitment and is designed to create, piece by piece, new practices and commitments that propel you into lasting transformation of your body and your life.

what are potential outcomes of participating in this challenge?

The outcomes of this program are very specific to each individual. It will strengthen, open and cleanse your body, clear your mind and change your relationship to food in a way that creates whole-life health instead of quick fixes. You'll learn how to get out of the trap of trying to find the time for the things that matter most to you, and start making the time and being the change.

what happens if I fall off the wagon?

I often tell my students that it doesn't matter how many times you fall, it's about calmly and kindly getting back up each and every time that makes all the difference. Part of this program is that (much like your day-to-day life) it will present you with many opportunities to jump ship... "I had a stressful day today and don't want to meditate for 5 minutes" or "I don't have the time today for yoga practice or to make myself something for dinner." The good news is this is where the personal revolution occurs: you'll be on the lookout for these kinds of disempowering thoughts and attitudes and experience the power of choosing your next action.
If you 'fall off the wagon', simply get back on.

ready to join?

1. Sign up here.
2. Stay connected with the Digital 40 Days community on Twitter and Instagram using #digital40days.
3. Check back here for weekly recaps starting Jan. 15.