I'm not telling you it is going to be easy, I am telling you it is going to be worth it-anonymous.
People are always surprised when I tell them I practice yoga 5-6 days a week. It doesn't matter if I taught 4 classes, my daughter is sick, I worked a 10 hour day or if I frankly feel like shit, I still practice yoga. Why? For two reasons. The benefits of yoga are cumulative and require consistency and my life will always be crazy busy because that's how I like it. Sitting around waiting for a slow moment to practice is like waiting for a rainbow to appear in the sky. Its beautiful, but it doesn't happen all that often.
Tips To Get You On the Mat When Every Bone in Your Body Says No
- Music-It can instantly change your energy. Play whatever it takes. Krishna Das, T.I or Pantera. Whatever will get you moving.
- Go To a Big Class-Being around other people is instant motivation. The energy of the other students is contagious. Catch the wave and ride it.
- Drink Coffee-Yep I said it. Sharath , Ashtanga Yoga Institute Director and Pattabhi Jois's grandson says, "no coffee , no prana". Most days I agree with him.
- Let Go of Expectations- I'm an Ashtangi and for years, If I didn't make it through a full sequence, I would beat myself up and feel like crap. I realized that if I didn't change my attitude, I was going to quit Ashtanga. Instead of letting go of my mental garbage, I was allowing my practice to lay it on thicker. Ashtanga Yoga teacher David Williams taught me that if you don't enjoy yoga, you will not keep doing it, therefore, do what feels good. While attending his workshop, I asked him why he left out a few of the jump backs, he said with rock star attitude, "because I felt like it". When you have energy, go full out. If you don't, do the best you can and be okay with it.
- What constitutes a yoga practice anyway? According to the Yoga Sutras, "Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind". It doesn't say, "Yoga is 1 1/2 hours in a 105 degree room" or "Yoga is 20 minutes of meditation" etc. So do something, anything that gets your mind quiet and you have practiced yoga.
- Recognize reasons for what they are...excuses- If you really wrote down your schedule, I bet somewhere between Dancing with the Stars and your second glass of wine you could have done something yoga like. I don't want to hear about how broke you are. That money you spent on pastries and Starbucks could have gotten you a $5 class at somebodies studio.
- Its like brushing your teeth- Have you ever left the house without brushing your teeth and felt self conscious and weird for the rest of the day? For 30 days, make yoga a part of your life like brushing your teeth or checking your e-mail. A ritual that happens everyday. Once your body and mind gets hooked, if you don't do it, you will feel like you didn't brush your teeth.
- Keep a class package at a studio. Keep your money tied up somewhere at all times so you have an extra incentive to go practice. Make sure it has an expiration date.
Video of the Day-The Joy Standard


