Trying something new - Yoga and the #TaketheLeap Challenge

It's Tuesday and I am linking up with hosts Jessica Joy and Jill Conyers for their The Fit Dish Link-Up every Tuesday.

Today's topic is "Try something new." I had mentioned on Friday that I am participating in prAna's #TaketheLeap 30 day yoga challenge with Sweat Pink. Yoga is something that is still very new to me. And even newer is doing a yoga challenge. However, yoga is one of my goals for 2015 and what better way to do it than to just dive right in and do a 30 day challenge.

Lately, I have been doing PiYo here and there which is a mix of pilates and yoga, but I have not seriously done just plain yoga. I did take an outdoor class this past summer but that was once and I was in over my head in that class. I thought it was very difficult but it was nice to get an idea of what yoga was about. Before that, I think I did a yoga video once with some friends at her house 7 years ago but other than that, that's all the yoga I've ever done. I have lots to learn.

So how does a beginner start doing yoga? 
I went online of course! I figure I work best with videos so I went to Greatist.com (because I love their site for tips and their layout is awesome) and searched for yoga videos. I came across this very helpful article The Best Free Yoga Videos for Newbies. It listed some great sites.

These are the ones that I have tried so far:

Yoga for Dummies - I did this one last Friday and it's great! It's nice and easy to follow. Lots of useful information is given and I like how there are tips and little alerts that pop up during the video that are just like in the "for dummies" books. You learn 12 basic moves that she calls the daily dozen. 

Dr. Melissa West's Beginner Yoga Videos - I did some of videos 101 & 117 on Monday. These were ok, but after doing the Yoga for Dummies routine it was a bit slower and actually kind of boring for me. She talks a lot in the beginning, but once she gets into the moves she explains them well but it seems at a slower pace. If you like a slower routine, I suggest you go with these videos.

17-Minute Flow to Boost Energy Levels - I also looked at this one and really liked it. I did a bit of it and liked how it was a lot faster going from move to move, however this one was more of an intermediate video which maybe why it is faster paced.

If you are doing the #taketheleap 30 day yoga challenge, another great place to turn to for tips and inspiration is this facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1525412337742204/.

I definitely need to work a lot on my flexibility. Some things I'm hoping to work on and am looking forward to during this month's challenge:

1) Flexibility - It's my major weakness when it comes to some of the poses. I hope to increase flexibility.
2) Learn new poses - I'm excited to learn new poses
3) I would love to learn crow pose. Let's see if in 30 days I will be able to do it. 

I'm really excited that this challenge is underway and I am looking forward to seeing what 30 days of yoga will do for me.

Do you practice yoga? What's your favorite pose?