I was inspired this morning to write a post about yoga and how it’s like it’s own living entity in my life. There are so many thoughts running through my head, thankfully there’s meditation or I’d be so lost, but one of them that repeats often is “yoga, yoga, yoga…” I’m not 100% sure what that thought is about. I think it’s a calling to my mat or a just a call for to get the attention of my higher Self, either way, not a day goes by that I don’t think about “yoga.”
My life with my daughter Mayla, who is turning 10 months old very soon, has forever changed my formal practice for now that is. I don’t get to do 90 minutes where I am just totally immersed in my practice or heck even go out to classes but deep down what I can feel building is this deep desire, deeper than I have ever felt before it step up my yoga, my lifeline. Although I have limited time I do take full advantage of it. Morning naps mean Sun Salutations and as many postures as I can fit in, often cut short of savasana at the end, boo.
Over the time I have been teaching yoga I have witnessed many people come and go, some never come back and I don’t really get that since I know there is nothing like a deeply profound, spiritual awaking, hard as hell, transformative beyond words yoga practice, there is just nothing like it… nothing! So if you have found yourself lost from your yoga here are my top 5 ways of finding it again.
1. Consistency rules over the Time – Commit to 15 minutes every single day with no excuse. If you can do more wonderful but get those 15 minutes in every single day! WHY? Because you are worth 15 minutes every single day that’s why. Your body, mind and heart all need this.
2. Leave your Mat out – If your mat is out you are more likely to hop on and do a few dogs. Often a few dogs lead to other postures because it feels so damn good so keep it out like you keep your sofa out in your living room.
3. Enjoy every single Second – Santosha, Sanksrit for contentment means that you find the happiness in what you are doing. Sounds like a very good idea to hit your mat that way as opposed to whining about having to do yoga. The fact that you found yoga in your life is truly a gift so shift your perspective so you see it in that light, perhaps a few handstands will help with that shift.
4. Pick a Pose for the Week – Okay so you don’t need to get into a deep well thought out sequence, mainly because you can find those in so many books or on-line if you want but why not just pick one pose to do all week, say crow pose for example. So every day you do some Sun Sal’s, standing postures, hip openers then crow or something more advanced if you fancy. This makes it simple when you do get on your mat as to where you are going.
5. Go to Class- The landscape of yoga classes has really changed in the last 10 years, like wow! Some classes are hardly recognizable as yoga to me anymore, maybe because there are so many teachers out there having said that find a teacher you love and go to their class! Supporting yoga studios and teachers is very important and it helps to keep your practice going as well as giving back to the larger energy of yoga.
Well, I hope that has tickled some deep desire in you to wake up and yoga. Side note, I know more than most that yoga is clearly way more than postures but without that piece it’s very easy to get truly lost in your thoughts, in the negativity and in this crazy world.
“Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, and relationships that have lost their meaning.” John Maxwell