Moon Cycle 28-Day Challenge: Week 3 in review with Mary Carr
Mary Carr, CEO of the Underbelly, reflects on her first week of practice participating in the Moon Cycle 28-Day Challenge.
The Moon Cycle Challenge is a flexible 4-week self driven challenge. Work through 28 days of curated yoga classes in the app in conjunction with our workbook full of journal prompts and reflections, available as a hardcopy and digital download in the shop here. Start and stop anytime.
Discovering the Moment: With a lot of support from The Underbelly
When I agreed to be the face of our next Moon Cycle Challenge at The Underbelly, I immediately felt that familiar pang of dread and anxiety in the pit of my stomach. Why had I committed to a yoga challenge amidst my summer of chaos? I would be moving (twice) and going on vacation during the challenge. What was I thinking?
As I sat with this dread and the critical shame my brain was heaping on me, I thought, what are you really afraid of? As I revisited this curiosity over the next few days, I realized I was terrified to carve out time for myself. Time that I would prioritize just for me, alone.
Fast forward to housesitting and the challenge starting—
It was, and still is, hard for me to slow down. At first, my mat seemed like an ominous space of confusion—an obstacle to all the other things I needed to get done. There wasn’t a way to prove to myself that I was doing a good job at yoga. I realized that I lean towards the roles I have in life because there are measurable ways to understand if I’m a good mom or a good manager. This helped me see how much of my movement has been exclusively goal-oriented—will this workout get me in those pants? Etc.
But The Underbelly was asking me for something different; it was inviting me into this moment right now. How did my body feel? What was going on in my mind if I listened? Was there space to just be present? What emotions were stirred up? And then! How do I carve out that space to revisit? How can my breath become a ticket to my body and a sense of presence? This was completely different from other yoga classes I’d been in, where the right way to do the posture far outweighed what came up in the movement to get there. Jessamyn checked in at the beginning of each class, not just to validate that I was “good” but to honor that if I wasn’t, that was fine too. Good or bad, I was welcome and worthy, and showing up was the whole point.
Things that have struck me as I’ve offered myself consistent practice with The Underbelly:
The flexibility of an app! As I’ve moved and been in transition, the fact that I can take a class anywhere at any time has been a huge comfort.
Developing an at-home practice allows for more honesty and vulnerability. I have always liked practicing in person with groups, but as I’ve dedicated time to a home practice, I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by how wonderful it feels to carve out room for myself to be alone. I’m more honest and try new things. I fall, I weep, I allow myself to be with whatever shows up.
Jessamyn as an instructor is a helpful guide on how I’d like to talk to myself. She pushes me—naming when I could sink deeper, encouraging that I identify sensation but not shy away from it—while also offering that I give myself permission to just be myself. I’m not there to perform or get it right; I’m there to practice being there so that I can be more present in every moment.
The Underbelly holds the space for me to practice being human. This world asks so much, and it is easy for me to outsource my own validation and approval. If I’m not careful, I’ll forget myself. The Underbelly helps me check in so I can remember.
I felt myself sink into the process. Around week two, I took a class that had me falling—down and out of postures—and I just felt proud of myself for trying. Like, yes! I’m here. I’m doing this. And I’ve noticed that acceptance has sunk into other parts of my life. As I practice on the mat, I take that acceptance with me.
The Moon Cycle Challenge helped me break free from my rigid ideas about movement. It taught me to flow with life’s natural rhythms and to appreciate the profound wisdom my body holds. Every class is a chance to explore, release, and grow. It's not just yoga; it's a practice of self-love and acceptance.
Join Us Today
Ready to transform your relationship with movement? Sign up for our online yoga studio for a Free 7 Day Trial and start your journey with the Moon Cycle Challenge, the Beginner track, or our daily class pick just for you. Trust me, the word "workout" doesn’t even touch the experience—it's a path to finding your true self.
Don’t just take my word for it. Dive in, feel the difference, and let your yoga practice become a place you go to remember who the fuck you are!
