“Am I bringing a pair of sledgehammers for you tonight?” That’s not the email you expect to get when making plans for a hike. But when I opened my inbox a few weeks ago, that’s exactly what I saw—a note from 42-year-old yoga teacher Josh Schrei (pronounced Shry) asking if I’d be partaking in his oddball workout up 8,577-foot Picacho Peak.

Fast-forward to later that evening. It’s sunny—the first day in weeks without rain—with billowy clouds and a flamingo hue hovering over the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Schrei, a muscular 5’8” guy with Sanskrit phrases tattooed on his arms, a honey-colored tan and clear greenish-blue eyes, is standing next to his shiny blue Subaru Forester holding out a pair of four-pound sledgehammers for me.

“Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha.” If you had asked me what these words meant nine weeks ago, I wouldn’t have had an answer for you. But now, sitting cross-legged on the stone patio in front of my house, facing the Sangre de Cristo mountains, I’m trying to repeat this tongue-twisting Sanskrit chant 108 times per day for 40 consecutive days. I’m on day two of my fourth attempt.