For many, the allure of yoga peaks in the wake of the New Years’ holiday. We imagine ourselves finally ready to buy that yoga mat calling our name or to try the class our friends have been raving about. We imagine a calmer, gentler, happier version of ourselves and wish for it, taste its allure, feel ready to set aside our resistance and jump.
For some powerful societal reason, it is at this time of year that so many of us are able to surmount the usual hurdles – I don’t have enough time. Life is already too busy. I won’t be good at it. I have no idea what I’m doing. The list goes on. Amazingly, the prevalent mindset at the dawn of the new year is one of openness and all of a sudden many of us are able to enact those wise words of Mother Theresa: “Yesterday is done. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
Although cliché in many respects and certainly oversaturated
with all sorts of modern marketing messages, there is enormous power to this surge
of willingness. If we learn to occupy
its full potential without gorging on unrealistic expectations, the road ahead
is truly endless.
The concept of resolving to be is precisely the mindset that anchors a successful commitment to yoga. It isn’t perfect poses, endless time on the mat, or an abandonment of all vices that brings out our inner yogi. Rather it is simply a willingness to show up, again and again.
Of course this isn’t as easy as it sounds, in large part because the mind’s habituated pathways are strong. The distractions of modern life and responsibility are many. Once the fever of New Years thinking fades, it can be easy to lose track of our vision of renewal. Recognizing that slippery slope for what it is, we offer the following ideas to keep your enthusiasm and ability to ‘begin’ alive and well.
1. Time Spent Well Makes More Time
“In meditation and in our daily lives there are three qualities that we can nurture, cultivate, and bring out. We already possess these, but they can be ripened: precision, gentleness, and the ability to let go.” – Pema Chodron
Contrary to popular opinion, taking time to practice yoga doesn’t steal time from your life, it actually adds more. When we spend time mindfully, calming the nervous system with breath, and strengthening and stretching the body with asana, we gift ourselves clarity. And with that clarity, stresses fall into place. Our mind is less likely to inflate small challenges in to big problems. Our heart is reassured by the presence and attention we have gifted to ourselves, and we are less vulnerable to the preoccupation of insecurity. Our attention span is less cluttered, our energy balanced, and with that comes an ease of prioritization.
2. There Is No Right Amount of Time
“Consider that you can commit to as little as five minutes a day. The highest form of discipline is consistency: powerful transformation can come from regularity.” – Judith Lasater
The other myth about time – especially when it comes to practicing yoga at home – is that we have to commit a certain amount of time to the practice. In reality, the key variable is consistency, not volume. When we swallow the internal message that what we have is not enough (be it time, money, beauty, abundance, ability), we set ourselves up to feel and embody a sense of lack, which very often sparks anxiety. The truth is that what we have, who we are, what we offer is enough. It is always enough. We simply have to practice believing that, enacting that, and all of a sudden a little can start to feel like a lot.
3. Yoga Comes in All Forms
“True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived.” – Aadil Palkhivala
A commitment to practice need not take the form of endless daily handstands. Living your yoga means embracing presence in daily life in myriad forms both on and off the mat. We practice yoga in asana, breath, and meditation but also in deed, thought, action, and choice. Perhaps one day your yoga practice is a long sweaty session on the mat, and the next it takes the form of a much needed quiet meditation and nap, and the next it takes the form of setting aside time to focus on someone or something you love.
4. Let It Feel Good
“Don’t move the way fear makes you move. Move the way love makes you move. Move the way joy makes you move.” – Osho
Sticking to a commitment to practice is hard enough, there is really no reason to make it harder. Allow yourself the tools and tricks you need to make it fun. If you’re working on building a home yoga practice, buy yourself the plump, cushy bolster and supportive ergonomic yoga blocks that delight your body when you practice in the studio. If music helps you relax, gather beautiful sounds to listen to. If you prefer to practice yoga outside, do it. Keep the fun alive in the exploration and notice when the tendency arises to overburden your commitment to self-renewal with so many expectations and rules that you lose the inspiration.
Kate Tripp is a yoga teacher, writer, mother, and co-founder of Luma Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio for adults and children in Santa Cruz, CA. She shares her wisdom and experience on the Three Minute Egg blog with weekly, inspirational, yoga-related blog posts. Read Kate's full bio here.