Yoga as a Routine Habit for life is one that is both enjoyable and fantastic for your health and for the look it can give to your body. Your Yoga routine habit should eventually be built up into a daily routine and should fit into your life in a way that makes you look forward to doing it instead of it becoming a burden. Baby steps will be the way to go and just imagine you could end up with a body like Jennifer Aniston, one of the many celebs who attribute Yoga as one of the main reasons for looking the way that they do.
Mark into your calendar an appointment with yourself
There are so many ways to learn yoga and have it become one of your fitness routine habits. If just starting out to begin with you wont want to do it every day as its best to give our bodies some recovery time. Decide if your going to attend a class, make the call and schedule it into the calendar. Why not ask your instructor if he or she can recommend some DVDs for further practice or get online and do some research on routines to print out or download onto your mp3player or ipod. Either way you will really want to find an extra way to practise outside of your class. Yoga instructor Christina Brown says “as you get more in tune with the philosophy behind yoga and get better at it you will probably find yourself wanting to practice more and more often.” Out comes the diary again and schedule in some more practice time, building it up eventually to a daily habit and a slender flexible physique.
Motivation for the Yoga Routine Habit
Its recommended to practice your yoga routine at the same time and place daily, however don’t let that dissuade you from starting. Just remember to schedule the 20min time slot into your organizer and stick with that, if like most of us every day of the week is different and usually centers around taxi duties with the kids, mornings before work are ideal. Good luck with that i say. I know morning Sharon wouldn’t be down with that no matter how many times afternoon Sharon writes it into her planner. I’ve managed to begin my consistent routine habit of every 2nd day yoga at this stage, by slotting it into my diary to do it immediately after dropping my son to school in the later part of the morning.
Warm up walk
I’m dressed in my tracksuit pants and t shirt and sand shoes and as soon as arriving home i grab my dogs leads and the dogs and take them on a twenty minute walk on my yoga day and for a half hour walk on my no yoga day. The dogs are now in the routine that has so quickly become a habit of this walk, and absolutely hound me (hound me) until i take them, making this exercise one that has very quickly become a routine habit of mine. If you have a dog, i suggest following my lead. The exercise is so wonderful for your pooch and as i said they so quickly will help you turn this walk into a routine habit, making it very easy for you to then incorporate the yoga part as the next step to the exercise routine. The brisk walk is also a awesome warm up for your yoga routine.
Preparation routine for yoga session
So the time for yoga is organized, we have our weekly class booked, some DVDs and podcasts and there are some great apps to download on itunes for free, to follow for your yoga routine. Next step is the equipment that we need. A sticky mat or a folded blanket and have a cushion handy to support your neck is fine. Ensure that the practice space is warm and quiet but well ventilated. You should also practice yoga on an empty stomach.
Study each pose.
and remember to execute it slowly, studying the pictures as you go along. Don’t worry if you can’t do it perfectly to begin with. Remember practice makes perfect. A starting position is best when it helps you to focus on breathing and when it helps strengthen your lower back and opens the groin and hip
- Sit cross-legged with your hands on your knees and focus on your breath. Keep your spine straight and push the sit bones down into the floor. Allow your knees to gently lower. If the knees rise above your hips, sit on a cushion. This will help support your back and hips. Take 5 to 10 slow, deep breaths. On the next inhale, raise your arms over your head. Exhale and bring your arms down slowly.
- Repeat 4-8 times
- Continue with some of the following
- Christina Brown recommends including at least one exercise from each of the following categories:
- A flowing activity that increases your awareness of breathing
- A standing posture
- A side stretch
- A forward bend
- A back bend
- A twist
- An ab strengthener
- A balance
- An inversion
- Forward bend
Your Yoga Routine Habit is Underway
So the main points to remember is to make a commitment to starting yoga. Do your research and decide on the routine that you will begin to follow. Don’t go too hard on yourself for missing a day. Schedule the time slots in your organizer as appointments with yourself. Follow the advice above from Christina Brown, she is an author of numerous Yoga books and very highly respected in the industry. One last thing remember to breath big breaths not shallow as so many of us often do, oh and enjoy enjoy enjoy.