by Sarah Cook Confession time. I’ve always been a yoga-hater. I’ve got a type A personality and little patience for things that move slowly. To top it off, despite years of dieting, working out, and doing events such as the Komen 3-day 60-mile walk and the Danksin triathalon, I’ve battled my weight as it went up and down—each time doing more damage to a psyche riddled with body image issues since childhood. In 2009, I injured my knee, only to discover I am knock-kneed and have little cartilage left in my knee (putting me 5 to 10 years out from knee replacement surgery). Then, in 2011, the C5 to C7 area of my spine (neck) went completely out of whack. As another birthday came and went this December, it dawned on me…I have to take better care of myself.

I had worked with Zelinda Yanez, founder and owner of the The Yoga Room, at Dell, and attended her 40-minute Gentle Yoga classes there twice a week. For some reason, I could tolerate her classes. Maybe it was the short class period, or maybe it was just because I liked Zelinda, her positive energy and her encouragement.

With a role change and building move at work last spring, yoga no longer fit into my work schedule, plus I increased my time on the laptop. Soon, I found myself with constant neck pain. After a good bit of Western and Eastern medicine and massage therapy, it dawned on me that maybe getting back to yoga was the answer.

I requested yoga classes for Christmas from my teenage son, and he and his father gave me a gift certificate to The Yoga Room. The day after Christmas, I started back at yoga with a vengeance (remember that type A personality). After just a few classes, I noticed a difference in my neck and my knees—my range of motion increased—but just as importantly, I realized I had to quit being so hard on myself.

I’ve committed to the 40-day Challenge. I’m convinced that building yoga into my workout routine will help me find my way back to feeling healthy and comfortable in my own skin. Are you ready for the challenge?

Sarah Cook is writer, singer, jewelry designer, and Social Media enthusiast. She works as a Senior Product Marketing Consultant for Dell, Inc. Opinions expressed here are her own.