If winter got the best of you,
springtime is a perfect time to reclaim your inspired yoga practice.
One of the things I've always loved about yoga is that anytime I
wandered from my daily practice, I always felt completely welcomed
back with no guilt, no shame, not even a setback. For me yoga has
never been as much about performance of a certain position as
surrendering to my inherent love of life.
The Yoga Sutras tell us that to really
get the best of what yoga has to offer, we need to stick with it
consistently for a long time. I wanted to share a little trick that
works: one simple thing you can do to strengthen your commitment and
insure consistent practice that lasts.
This is best done immediately following
a really great yoga session. It doesn't make any difference if it's a
yoga class, a retreat you're attending, or a perfectly aware, full
session at home. Make sure you're not in a hurry to rush off to the
next event. Bring a lovely piece of paper/stationery or a blank card
selected especially for the occasion. If like me, you are a
connoisseur of fine writing instruments, then bring along your
favorite pen too.
After your next wonderfully rich,
spot-on yoga session, sit quietly for a few minutes, or lie in
savasana, breathing and receiving the many blessings being offered to
you. Be still... open... quiet... and aware... Let yourself deeply and fully
receive. Take your time. Enjoy.
When you are ready, take up your paper
and write a note to yourself: the self that will invariably become
distracted with all the many wonderful things to do, read, research,
watch and discover in the world; the self that will decide NOT to do
a yoga practice some mornings. From where you sit now, feeling what
you are feeling and knowing what you experientially know right now
about yoga, write yourself a note about why a regular practice of
yoga is important to you. Essentially, it's a love
letter to yourself.
When you are finished, place your
LOVEly note in an envelope and place it somewhere you can easily get
to, but won't forget about. If you have a little altar space in your
yoga room, that would be ideal. I used to put mine under my yoga mat
or under my meditation cushion. When I had to roll up my mat and put
it away in a closet, I rolled it in my mat.
Here's the deal: promise yourself that
any day you find yourself choosing to skip your practice, you will at
least show up to read the note. That's all. It's beautiful. It's
remarkably effective.
A note from your most awake, aware,
alive, illumined self to your crazy, wild, spontaneous and sometimes
distracted self. Just a note. Not a nagging note, not a finger
wagging scolding note, but a love note, reminding you of the value of
a promise you made to yourself. So if you don't stay to practice,
simply reading your note will to some degree, shift you
energetically, back to your expanded love-space while simultaneously
serving to reinforce your commitment to sanity, clarity and higher
consciousness.
And don't be surprised if you find
yourself breathing slower, deeper, and with more awareness, maybe even
finding a minute or two you didn't think you had for a standing yoga
mudra, which may be followed by a few other spontaneous asanas, which
may be followed by a slight change in plans...
Do you have strategies you use to help you stay on track? We'd love to hear what works for you. Please share.
