Is 40 days long enough to create a habit?

When my new friend Rich Goldstein (a.k.a. The Swimming Yogi) invited me to participate in a "40 Day Challenge", I reflexively said "NO".  At first i thought he meant we would practice yoga for 40 days straight - and I knew I wasn't ready to make that kind of commitment to yoga.  But he challenged me to reconsider when he expanded the challenge to encompass "good living practice" - and I reconsidered.

At first I thought it was a crazy idea...  but then I started looking around the web and found many articles about 40 Day Challenges that included - but werent limited to yoga - and I liked what I saw...

Originally created by Duncan Peak with permission from Baron Baptiste this program is designed to completely recondition your way of life. It is not a strict, dogmatic, disciplined regime that offers step by step instructions but rather a chance to creatively use your intuition and integrate many facets of Yoga into your daily life.

The program is run for just under 6-weeks starting on a Monday and finishing with triumphant festivities on a Friday night. The 40-Days are a progressive program that leads you deep into a basic Yogic way of life. It is intensive with each week going deeper into areas of our lives and giving many opportunities for growth and personal transformation.  more

I know they're talking about Yoga...  but if you read it carefully, it's actually never mentioned explicitly - so I've decided (with Rich's blessing) to take a bit of artistic license - and launch a 40 day Challenge with Rich.

The question is...  will living a more aware, intentional life for 40 days create habits that will endure beyond...  let's see...  and feel free to join!

Love,