How often should I practice yoga? Ah, the ultimate question. If you dive into all the yoga sources you will find that they say, one should practice every day. But, realistically and in today’s hustle-bustle world, that may be a bit difficult, perhaps once or twice might be what you can do. I’m sure a lot of you wish you could practice more than you already do, but where do you find the time?
Perhaps after a great class, you tell yourself “I should do this more often! I feel great!” And, you probably can’t wait to do it again. Maybe you even tell yourself that you’re going to go to another class tomorrow!! But, tomorrow comes and it’s time for you to go, but you find every excuse not to. You’ve got too many errands to run, or you feel you need to rest because you worked too hard and that you’ll just go tomorrow! But, tomorrow comes and again you don’t go, then before you know it, it’s been a few weeks! You just can’t seem to “find the time.”
Sound familiar, well, it happens to us all. The practice of creating and maintaining new habits is hard and it usually disrupts what your normal routine is. Believe it or not, this is a good thing!!! You just need to get over that hurdle of turning your yoga practice from a “maybe” to an “I’m going!” You know, deep down inside of you, all of the wonderful things that yoga does for your body, mind and soul! How your practice transforms you into that peaceful, loving person that you truly are inside. Along with the amazing physical benefits that happens to our bodies!
A few things that may help make your practice more consistent:
- Stop thinking that Yoga is a luxury. When we think that certain things in our lives are “luxuries” they are that much easies to bail out on. Start thinking of how important your practice is to your entire well-being. When you believe that your practice is a method of bringing your body, mind and soul to a place of health and overall wellness, it becomes a priority. Yoga keeps our body and mind strong, flexible and well balanced, carrying us through the day and aids in good sleep through the night.
- Make it part of your “routine.” When you find a class or classes that you love, that bring you to that place of wellness, that makes your body, mind and soul soar, put it on your schedule! Make this a meeting with yourself that cannot be cancelled!
- Reward yourself! There’s nothing like positive reinforcement!!! Plan a reward for taking your favorite class every week for a month! Making it exciting, subconsciously you’ll be more motivated to keep your date with your yoga mat!! Make your reward something you’ve been wanting, maybe a spa-day or a new yoga outfit!!!
Yoga is your self-care. Engaging in selfcare is an essential party of becoming and staying healthy. Self-care is NOT selfish, it is a necessity. Once you can make this mindset shift, finding ways to add self-care elements into your daily life becomes easier and not just something you do every once in a while, but daily. Set some loving boundaries when it comes to bailing out of your practice, and just say, no, I’m off to yoga! Want to join me?
“Self-care is a deliberate choice to gift yourself with people, places, things, events, and opportunities that recharge our personal battery …” Laurie Buchanan.
Hope to see you on the mat soon!
Lovingly,
Tracy
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