Yoga Off The Mat

Creating Habits of Health and Happiness through Yoga and Meditation

“... This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the  chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: 
          Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. 
          Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!’
 W. H. Murray in The Scottish Himalaya Expedition, 1951(the whole quote was formerly ascribed to Goethe)

Over the twenty years I have been teaching Yoga, the most consistent obstacle to students receiving the benefits they seek is beginning the journey. Once the search has begun the next obstacle is finding the practice that will address their needs and intention. In that regard all Yoga classes aren’t created equal and the search can be part of the fun. So I invite you to remember amidst this process of change that Yogis remind us that “Yoga practice {maybe}begins as chore, becomes and habit and transforms into a joy”.

As great as Yoga generally makes us feel, maintaining consistent practice can often be a struggle. Energy level, moods, doubts,  going out for ice cream, guilt about taking time for oneself, conflicting activities and home life all seem to conspire to undermine our intentions to add Yoga to our lives. As a consequence, it is often hard to get ourselves to practice until we make a fundamental commitment to ourselves. Motivation and commitment to any practice is the basic challenge to be met in order to achieve any success, yet Yogis have long acknowledged that the degree of involvement is at least partially dependent upon your life stages and goals.

Authentic commitment can occur when the question you ask yourself is not whether you will do Yoga, but just how will the Yoga you do fit into the  fabric of your life in a sustained way. As the quote from Murray infers above, at this point creative avenues open to help develop your yoga practice despite of or even utilizing the apparent obstacles the had blocked you before. Therefore the skilful approach to any discipline, Yoga included, involves developing ways to compassionately sustain involvement as better habits slowly replace lesser ones, until joys increasingly replace the moments of doubt, struggle and drudgery.

Some suggestions to sustain a Yoga or meditation practice in your life include:

• Decide to do  it—commit by affirming the direct benefits Yoga has for yourself enumerating the indirect ways those benefits also impact those in your  life—better health and mood, less stress, more overall energy, etc. You don’t yet need to know how this will happen to set the intention.
• Set short term and longer term practice goals that address what you want to get from Yoga. Many motivation experts suggest “SMART” goals that are Specific, Measurable(and meanigful to you), Attainable, Realistic and Timed.  Even if you aren’t a one to nermally set specific goals you can take some time of crystalize one or more intentions that will help steer your course. Frame them positively; for example:seeking tone and flexibility as opposed to gettin rid of this fat or stiffnes. I believe this is most effective as it opens thing up to allow for more enjoyment and gains both in the process and in the long run. Let yourself be surprised and pleased if you get more good stuff than what you planned!
• Yogis have stated “The best and most powerful Yoga practice is the one that you will actually do.” so balance determination with compassionate  acceptance of your present situation. Don’t over promise (length of time, frequency, etc) and set yourself up for failure, don’t underestimate your   capacities and limit the benefits you can attain.
• Create a spot for yourself in your living space to practice and set consistent times to practice as best you can.  Acquire appropriate “tools of the trade”—mats, blocks, music, etc. that make the space comfortable and pleasant to be in.
• Keep inspired—read books, use videos and tapes to support practice, bring new ideas and re-invigorate your practice.
• Find a class; go to workshops, retreats, etc alone or with friends. The phrase “community over willpower” asserts that group energy can be reinforcing and fun in any endeavor. It can get you started and keep you going. Honor and  communicate difficulties and resistances with a teacher or fellow student  worthy of trust, every question or issue that comes up can be resolved.  Often resistance undermines us at significant points of our unfolding and  provide opportunities for healing to happen as they are resolved.
• Stay with it—when your enthusiasm wanes go back to step one and recalibrate your efforts and commitment to your present circumstance.

Let yourself find your  own favorite approaches on this list and your own list of things you do do succede in your other endeavors. The basic skills of success are the same in most of our endeavors and a good deal of the excitement of Yoga practice early on is seeing these successes mount and learnign to look at any difficulties as lessons learned along the way. Good luck and I hope to see you down the road!

Here are a few guidelines you can use now to help alleviate your anxiety:

 •   Recognize and admit that you are feeling stressed and anxious. 

•   Become aware of your bodily symptoms. Don’t let them scare you, let them talk to you.

•  Try to pinpoint what you were anxious about. What happened yesterday? What were you thinking about, before you went to bed? If you can’t pinpoint it, don’t worry about it and move on. 

•   Give yourself permission to feel anxious about whatever it is that is bothering you. “Of course I feel anxious about this problem, anyone would. but how much anxiety is too much?

•   If you do know what it is that is bothering you, what can you do to eliminate or minimize, the situation in some way so that it isn’t so stressful?

•   Must importantly, how can you react differently so you won’t be so affected by this situation.

•   Listen to the dialogue within yourself. Are you filling yourself full of negative thoughts about a certain situation~ what could you say to yourself that would feel more comforting.

•   Are you overwhelming yourself with “shoulds” and high expectations? If so, which ones would you eliminate?

•   Are you blaming someone else for your anxieties, unhappiness, poor health, lack of success or whatever?  How can you take responsibility for yourself and make some positive changes?

•   Give yourself positive reinforcement for even the smallest accomplishments. From the view of Yoga these principle resonate as in some ways coping mechanisms and in others the beginning of the road to transofrmation and growth beyond our present ways of experienceing things. Enjoy the journey as best you can as you move forward!

Here are some thoughts about how to create a more meaningful Holiday Season for you and your family.
(The source of this is very old and the author unknown…..)

1. Drop two family traditions this year that cause work or pressure.
2. Plan a physical activity for the family (or at least for yourself) on whatever day is most stressful for you.
3. Ask children “What are you giving?” or “What things are you making?” instead of ”What do you want?”  
4. Have a family discussion of expectations for the holidays. Have each person state what would make the holidays successful for them.
5. Give services (time, work, etc.) rather than material gifts.
6. Write greeting cards and letters during January.
7. Keep the children’s consumption of refined sugar to a minimum to avoid creating a “sugar high.” Give other things in stockings besides candy.
8. When serving alcoholic beverages, do not encourage (pressure) people to have “one more.”
9. Offer alternatives to sugar and alcohol when you entertain: spiced tea, mulled cider, vegetable dips, fruit, nuts, etc.
10. Start a new family tradition this year, something that no one has clone before.
11. Decorate less than usual.
12. Spend the holiday with someone you really care about, not only those you feel obligated to  be with.
13. Take some time for yourself to be alone (even a few minutes) doing something that relaxes you (e.g., bubble baths nap, running, meditation).
14. Reverse roles that are traditional in your family at the holidays. Switch jobs that you always do, and experience something new. Accept the idea of letting go of control (i.e., so what if she buys a funny shaped tree, so what if he burns the potatoes).
15. Say “No” to at least one party.
16. When you entertain, if people offer to bring something, say “Yes.”
17. Travel less, or
18. Leave the area.
19. Deliver some of your presents after the holiday.
20. Do your wrapping as you buy, and not at the last minute.
21. Be sure to get enough sleep.
22. Do a sit-down meeting with family right after the holidays. While your memory is fresh, reflect on what aspects made it a good holiday and which you would like to repeat next year. State out loud what you do not wish to do next year. It’s helpful to write these things down and file away with your Christmas gear for next year.
23. Deliberately work on keeping things simple.
24.   Agree with family to a maximum price on presents to keep the debt low. (No wonder January is such a bummer.)
25. Do Yoga!!