December’s Fitness Challenge Is: Yoga

December can be a stressful time of the year, so we’ve saved our most relaxing, grounded, honour-yourself challenge for last.

You can get a serious workout with yoga, so don’t think we’re slacking off. You decide if you want to take this month easy or push yourself to try challenging poses or sweaty vinyasa flows.

Most yoga teachers will tell you that everything starts with the breath: If you can be aware of your breathing and your body, then pretty much anything you’re doing (even sitting in place) is yoga. Add poses to give your body and mind more to do.

Advanced poses may require lots of flexibility, strength, and careful technique, but plenty of poses are accessible to absolute beginners.

So, for this week, make time to do some yoga. You might decide to take a class, or if you’re an experienced yogi, just pull out your mat and work on whatever you need to work on. But for most of us, the easiest way to get started is to find a good routine or video we can follow along with. A few to consider:

• This 3-minute flow you can do at your desk

• This 7-minute session aimed at relaxation

• This 30-minute no-equipment yoga workout

• These guides to 30 days of yoga; you can do a video each day, or choose a few to experiment with.

We’ll be back on Friday with some more ideas for developing your own yoga practice and making the most of it. In the meantime, leave your questions and comments below. What do you want to work on this month? What obstacles do you anticipate?