How to have a daily yoga practice      

“Practice and all is coming” K. Pattabhi Jois

Your guide to build a consistent yoga practice, to feel great every day!

This guide wasn’t created to achieve that crazy hard yoga pose, but to make sure that you take care of yourself, because no one will ever take better care of you, than You.

Whether you’re a beginning or not, keeping a consistent yoga practice is difficult. There are so many things going on, we all have busy lives, whether you’re a student that’s studying or a working person.

On top of that there’s other reasons, that you may not be able to have a consistent daily yoga practice, you’re too stiff, its too cold, its too hot, there’s mosquitoes, I ate food, I’m too hungry … the list of excuses go on.

I know it, I am an expert procrastinator and task avoider myself. Welcome to the club.

I have noticed that to keep a consistent daily yoga practice, there are a few things to do, that help me achieve this and I’d like to share those tips with you.

Technology is not your friend

Technology, is a big way that we lose time. I kind of see looking online or at social media, like a timelapse video, you’re doing something you thought it was for 30 seconds but it was recording you zoning out for over an hour.

I don’t know about you, but I most definitely spend a shameful amount of time zombie scrolling into the vortex of instagram. Yep I’m sure we’re all guilty. Whether its social media, youtube (panda videos!), TV or Netflix, technology is slowly sucking our precious time.

So the point is to also become aware of that behaviour, whatever your distraction is hide it away, turn your phone off or the wifi off altogether for that specified amount of time that you practice yoga.

When you have stepped on your mat or gone to a yoga class, do you ever regret going?

I certainly never have. I have always felt the benefits of a yoga practice, even if its once a week, it’s a win for my body and my mind.

Also if you’re not visually able to do certain poses due to injury, there are other ways that you can cultivate a calm state of mind, through breathing like Pranayama and Meditation.

Did you know that yoga poses, were created so that you can meditate for long periods of time. If you’ve ever sat crossed legged for an hour, you very quickly realise that you need a rather limber body.

Of course yoga isn’t just about getting bendy on the mat, it’s also about how you can be mindful, present and try as hard as it may be sometimes, to not lose your shit at certain situations.

Remember that there isn’t a certain time of day that you must do yoga, just decide for yourself what works for you. Personally I prefer the mornings as soon as I wake up.

Below I’ve added a Schedule Planner that you can save digitally or print out, to help you with noting how your daily yoga practice progress is going.

Here’s a guide that I’ve tried and tested myself, for you to follow, to get on your mat:

• Click here to use your Daily Yoga Schedule Planner to view your week ahead and record your month when you have practiced.
• Decide the time of the day that best suits you.
• Plan how long you can commit whether that’s 15-30 minutes or an hour a day.
• The night before, review the time of day you set your practice and for how long your practice will be.
• If you’re feeling uninspired there are so many youtube Yoga videos. I do mention turning off technology, but sometimes the online world does offer nuggets of yoga wisdom.
• Find that youtube video of your choice and save it.

THE YOGA PRACTICE

• First thing first! Hide the distractions, turn your mobile on airplane mode or even better turn that thing off altogether!
• Beginner Practice: the hardest thing as a newbie is to start, so well done you for starting on this journey of self-discovery.
• Freestyle Practice: close your eyes, get comfortable, breathe and get started.
• You’re on your mat, yay, go you!

So if you can’t practice everyday that’s ok! Can you take the yoga off the mat? Be more kind to yourself, breathe before your thoughts get the best of you and be more mindful of the moment.

When I first did yoga it was during high school (college in England) term, just once a week. I still felt the benefits weeks later!

Just like any practice, just make sure to be consistent. You will notice the benefits of having a lighter body, feeling less stiff and much calmer (most of the time).

Do you have a daily, weekly, monthly, once in a blue moon yoga practice? Or do you find that you’re too busy?