With how busy we are nowadays, it can be really hard to stay committed or consistent with anything, not just your yoga practice. It is becoming harder to focus with the demands of work, family, and the ever pressing social media. When going through certain life transitions, it can be easy to fall off of a consistent yoga practice. Remember, this doesn’t mean you’ve failed. You can get back to being consistent any time, and these 5 tips can help!
Know your why
You may have heard this before, and I will be here to tell you again: know why you are practicing yoga (and for that matter, know why you are doing anything). If you can be connected to your why, then you will show up to your yoga mat even when it is hard, even on the days you don’t feel like moving your body. My why for practicing yoga is to help improve my energy and mood so I can be a wife, mother, and friend that is present and there for my people.
Set realistic goals
Goals can be the key to success. And generally speaking, practicing yoga or meditation is a habit goal not an achievement goal. It is something you want to consistently bring into your life. If you haven’t moved your body in a while, it is important to set realistic goals, such as practicing 3 times a week for 20 minutes rather than practice 7 days a week for an hour. Start small and then build upon your successes. As James Clear shares in Atomic Habits, strive to be 1% better each day.
Setting physical goals for your body doesn’t tend to work either. When you don’t see a change in your body within 4 weeks, you start to fall off the wagon of your goals. Set goals around the amount of time you are practicing yoga or goals practicing yoga more so that you sleep better at night!
Find an Accountability Buddy
It is way more fun to practice yoga with friends, and it is more likely you will show up! If you have someone relying on you to be there, you will more likely show up for them. Find someone you want to do yoga with, even if it’s virtual, and set a virtual date to practice together.
Schedule it
Our busy schedules make it hard to get anything in for ourselves. However, when you actually set it up in your schedule, you are more likely to follow through with the activity. Sign up on Mindbody a week in advance and then put it in your calendar. This will help to remind you to set aside the time for yourself to practice yoga. Your future self with thank you!
Be okay with slow progress
I find when students have very high expectations of how they should be doing yoga or how they should be feeling in yoga class, it makes them fall off of their consistent practice very quickly. Yoga, unlike other exercises, is about staying connected to your breathing and being very present to your movements. Because of this, it may feel like nothing is changing within your practice or body. However, showing up when you say you are going to practice is actually creating small changes in yourself you may not even realize. Being committed to yourself will change how you feel about yourself in the long term. Learning to be content with how things are right now will create immeasurable change over your life.
Choose one of these strategies from above to start making progress toward being more consistent in practicing yoga.