How can you practice yoga daily and stick with it?

How far has your personal practice progressed this fall?

After the vacations, we are usually full of good intentions and our desire to prolong the effects of summer with a daily practice is strong!

So after a few weeks of getting back into the swing of things, are you still addicted to your mat every day or are you starting to put off the practice that is so good for you until tomorrow due to lack of time? Practice yoga daily and learn more from best yoga teacher training in Rishikesh blog by Rishikesh Yoga Gurukulam site: https://www.rishikeshyogagurukulam.com/blog to get more in-depth yoga knowledge.

What does this tell you?

Yoga postures in everyday life: a life hygiene?

Often my students ask me how they can integrate yoga and meditation practice into their hectic and responsible daily lives.

As for me, for years the practice has accompanied me everywhere: at home, while traveling, on weekends, in hotels, wherever I am.

Sometimes this practice consists of a few minutes of conscious breathing while I wait for the train, a short walk in the fresh air, but that’s something! A moment with yourself and nature.

My 10 golden rules for daily yoga practice

To help you move forward each day on the path, I wanted to share in this article 10 golden rules to make your practice a daily moment of reconnection with yourself, regardless of the constraints of everyday life ✨😊✨.

It is when you take this time for yourself that you will find more space in your body, in your heart, and between your thoughts to enjoy life to the fullest and achieve whatever you need to achieve without pressure.

Rule #1: Create your own spaces.

To stay constant, the 1st step is to block out time slots for yourself: whether it’s a time for yoga, for meditation, or for relaxation.

I personally use the code TPM: Time for Me and block it in my calendar simply like a business appointment!

To make sure you enjoy returning to your mat each day, create a special physical space where you can settle down and let your energies flow.

Create a beautiful atmosphere (candles, scents, stones, objects): You will be happy to find this energy of calm and serenity every day.

The advantage with yoga is that a few square meters are enough!

Rule #2 for daily yoga practice: prioritize comfort.

You need very few accessories for your practice, but it is important to choose them well so that they are as comfortable as possible.

First of all, you should choose a high-quality mat that will accompany you for several years, because you will leave your energy on it.

The criteria for a good carpet

Choose a carpet with a nice thickness of at least 6 mm, an environmentally friendly material, a sufficient length and a good grip, that is, it should not be slippery.

Some mats come with markings and lines that can help you align yourself better.

For travel and indoor training, you can also get a travel mat that covers the existing mats.

Finally, it is very helpful to equip yourself with some yoga accessories that you can now buy in any sports store and online.

These “props” will either help you if the pose is difficult to access, or deepen the pose by adding an extra challenge.

Invest in a minimum of yoga supplies.

Here is a list of the most useful supports for maximum comfort and safety :

2 cork blocks (foam ones are less versatile).
2 straps
1 bolster for the regeneration poses
2-3 blankets for inversions or seated poses (large bath towels will do in the beginning).
A yoga or regular chair for regenerations and certain stretches.
An eye pillow to enjoy great relaxation in savasana.

Rule No. 3: Switch off

Especially when practicing at home, it’s easy to fall back into the trap of practicing while responding to ubiquitous calls and messages or other distractions.

To make this time as beneficial as possible, try as best you can to avoid being distracted by putting your phone and computer on airplane mode and alerting those around you that you are stepping away for a few minutes.

Rule #4: Carry an intention

When we practice, we do so both for ourselves and for all beings around us to whom we send purified energies and vibrations.

The practice nourishes our deep desires and intentions, which is called Sankalpa in Sanskrit.

So before you begin your practice, take a few moments to inwardly repeat your desire, your intention for the day, let a word, phrase or image come spontaneously.

This desire is like a small seed that you water with your practice to see it blossom in your life.

Rule #5: Regularity before intensity!

The first goal is to establish a daily routine, and for that I recommend you focus on regularity rather than intensity or duration:

“It’s better to work out for 20 minutes every day than to work out intensely for two hours on the weekend: This way you can create a ritual you won’t want to miss!

Set reasonable goals, because the hardest part is rolling out the carpet, and then time flies!

Especially when you’re overwhelmed, make this time work for you because your routine gives you the opportunity to reconnect with the present moment and stay grounded despite a turbulent environment.

Rule #6: Above all, cultivate goodwill.

Set attainable goals, focus on progressiveness, and work in slowness :

“Slowness is the secret to fast progress!”.

Use being alone to go on a journey of discovery, explore attitudes, feel deeply and explore your limits without striving for performance or having particular expectations.

Pay attention to your body’s sensations and signals to avoid injury.

Above all, practice benevolence and non-violence, principle 1 of the 8 limbs of yoga: Ahimsa.

Forget about doing good, and always try to do good for yourself!

When you interact with your teacher, share your feelings and get advice so that you can progress and develop at your own pace.

Rule #7: Cut up your daily yoga practice.

If your schedule doesn’t allow you to block out an hour every morning (which is doable if you set your alarm earlier), you can still break up your yoga practice into several segments spread throughout the day.

For example, you can divide your sequences as follows:

20-30 min in the morning with invigorating breaths, dynamizing postures and sequences to boost energy and give you vitality for the whole day.
10-15 min in the office: every 2 hours you should remember to stretch, twist in the chair or standing and oxygenate yourself in the fresh air.
15-30 min in the evening when you get home to create a decompression lock between your day and your evening: some regenerating postures, forward stretches, inversions accompanied by your favorite animal!

Rule #8: Balance routine and new.

It’s important to maintain a ritual with familiar poses and a familiar sequence, as this creates motivation and a reference point against which you can measure your progress day by day.

Starting from your routine and moving out of your comfort zone to explore new boundaries without forcing them, I invite you to gradually incorporate new practices.

These can be postures or variations of known postures, breaths, pranayamas and kriyas, new songs or mantras related to the energy of the day, week or month.

This will cultivate your spirit of curiosity and bring a breath of fresh air to your practice.

To get inspired, there are now numerous magazines, videos and books available.

Rule #9: Incorporate advanced yoga poses.

Advanced yoga postures help us cultivate patience, humility and regularity.

They encourage us to stick to our sadhana and return to the mat each day with joy to re-explore our balance, strength and will without attachment or expectation.

Day after day you will observe how the body develops on the way to the pose, and one day the body will have understood and the posture will come naturally, without effort and with all ease.

Rule #10: No yoga practice without Savasana

Last but not least: always think about Savasana!

This is the most important moment where you will integrate and diffuse in your whole being, all the benefits of your session 🧚🏻♀️

Get comfortable in the lying position, create as much space in the body as possible by re-stretching the legs, arms, neck.

IF needed, consider taking supports to be most comfortable:

A bolster under your knees or a chair under your calves
A cushion under your head if your head tends to go backwards – you want to keep your forehead parallel to the ground
A cushion over your eyes, taking care to remove your glasses and to encourage maximum grounding: experiment with one or two bricks on your stomach and weight on your thighs for example.

Take advantage of the silence or of a music that favors the shift into a modified state of consciousness.

Enjoy your inner journey!