You may have heard time and again that yoga can change lives. You must have also attended a few yoga classes where you learnt what asanas to perform. But asana alone is not yoga, as other holistic practices under the same wing include meditation and Pranayama. Doing a teacher training course in India can change your life, but how? Doing a course for a month or two, cannot change you.
However, you can integrate yoga into your daily life, if you keep a few things in mind. Read about the same here.
How To Integrate Yoga Into Your Lifestyle?
In your busy life, full of work commitments and family commitments, you must include yoga practices, starting in a subtle manner. You can make it sustainable, if you take it slow and steady. Here are a few ways you can do it.
- Set Realistic Expectations
Making a resolution and sticking to it in the long-term is a different thing. It is not attainable at the very first instance. If you are not used to exercising daily, it can be very cumbersome. If you are a beginner, commit to 2-3 days a week initially. Slowly you can increase the frequency. This will give you ample time to observe your bodily changes and moods. Over a period of time, you can increase the frequency. Once you can stick to your goal, you will automatically start trusting your body and the practice.
- Set Intentions For Your Practice
You must set a theme or intention for your yoga practice, to make it a part of your lifestyle. The intention can be just about anything, from self-love to connection with your subconscious. The stronger it is, the better it is for you. You can better understand it, by the word ‘Sankalpa’. We cannot call it a goal, as such, as ‘Sankalpa’ goes much deeper. It is like an affirmation or a manifestation. You can repeat it before every yoga day. It reminds you that you are not just running after physical flexibility or stability, but eternal wellbeing.
If you really want to make yoga a part of your life, you have to keep measuring how far you have reached. It means holding oneself accountable. If you try to find out who is leading much more holistic livelihoods than you, then depression might set in. So, it is always good to track your progress by looking back at the point where you started.
- Let There Be Imperfection
You cannot judge yourself against others in yoga. It is not a competition. Of course there is competitive yoga. But that is different from what you have set out to do, or rather achieve. Your body structure and alignment is completely different from that of the others. So, there is no point sulking, if you find someone with a better posture. If you are tired, but do not feel like giving up, stop that right now! It will be harassing your body. And if you miss a session one day, stop worrying about it. You can catch up the next day, can’t you?
After you have completed a yoga TTC, you can always go back home and enroll in an online class. It will be a refresher of sorts. Your practice will be that way. You can also try a variety of yoga styles, to make it more exciting.
Now that you know how to go about it, learn here, what you can do.
Basic Sequences Which You Can Incorporate Into Your Daily Life
- Start practicing when you get up in the morning. This will get the blood flowing. A series of Pranayama can be a good start. Additionally, you can do some movements on the bed itself, before you even set your foot on the ground.
- Next, when you are on your way to the workplace, or have an important presentation to give, practice some energizing poses. Some of them include Camel pose, Tree pose, and Chair pose. You can do them at any place. These are anxiety fixing poses, which will get you through.
- If you are working at a stationery job, you can do some yoga practices at your desk itself. Touching your toes in seated position, stretching the hands, and twisting the body left and right, are nice options. You can also try the Cat-Cow pose, which is excellent. The seated twist is especially very beneficial. Desk-Upward Dog pose is also another option, for you to try.
- There are quite a few yoga poses, which you can practice after lunch. It is that harrowing time, when one feels like napping, but cannot. Instead, you may be tasked with delivering an important speech. Try Kapalbhati, which will make you shine. Additionally, you can also do a few Sun Salutations. Tree pose is also great for balancing.
- You can try out a few yoga poses before bed-time as well. They include Balasana, Baddha Konasana, Viparita Karani, amidst many others.
The yoga that you choose to do before bedtime lays more emphasis on rest and stress relief, rather than anything else. Trying Yin yoga or Hatha yoga can also help. Avoid poses that are too stimulating. Backbends, inversions, and flowing asanas can result in insomnia. So, you must try to avoid those.
Conclusion
There are quite a few ways by which you can incorporate yoga as a part of your lifestyle. Calm yourself and regain your well-being today itself. It will slowly start showing on your body, mind, and emotional spirit. You must ensure to do your yoga teacher training course from a renowned school, where you are made to understand the background and efficacy of each pose. The best school will help you to identify what you are suited for. It will also be a stepping stone towards a life that is holistic to the fullest. Joining a yoga school will also transform your life in several different ways. Identify the best one for that very reason.
