As soon as you think about it, do it.
It's raining outside (a given when it's rainy season in the Cayman Islands), you're super cosy in bed, and while you had all the best intentions to roll out your yoga mat and practise, the temptation to stay snuggled up in your blanket is too great. You end up skipping your exercise for the day, because you run out of time between juggling work commitments and the grocery shopping.
Second option; you wake up and get up, as you had intended the night before when setting your alarm clock. Despite feeling sleepy, with one eye open, you wander onto your yoga mat and sit down. You've made it. You've accomplished the hard part. Here you might stay for five minutes as your body and mind begin to awaken out of their slumber. This is when the magic happens. You're here now. You've come this far. As the sleepy dust clears from your eyes, you begin to move. Perhaps just gentle neck and wrist stretches initially. Then the mind starts to challenge you to explore greater movement so you find Child's Pose, which melts into a Puppy Pose, and then Cat/Cow curls soon follow. Before you know it, you're up into a Downward Facing Dog and flowing through several Sun Salutations. Now you're warm, you opt for an Eagle Pose to open through the upper back and release the shoulders ahead of a day sitting at your desk. This prompts you into a Bridge Pose for postural support, followed by a Supine Twist to release the lumbar spine. Fifty minutes has flown by and now you find yourself rushing to squeeze in at least five minutes of Savasana at the end. You finish of you practise with a Happy Baby Pose, followed by Supported Fish Pose and the ultimate lower back release; placing the block underneath the bottom as you prepare to move into your final relaxation.
Congratulations. One hour of total body movement, complete with meditation, even before your day has begun to help you feel good, improve posture, boost concentration and stress less. You've set yourself up for a great day. And it doesn't have to be 60 minutes. Some days the body wants to move, and other days, all it needs is 10 minutes of sitting still and think of nothing. No phone, no emails, no to-do list has even entered you mind at this stage. Just be, without any distractions. Give your mind a break, a holiday, a rest.
Perhaps you're driving home from work, thinking how tight your neck and shoulders feel and how wonderful a good stretch would be. As soon as you get home, roll out your mat to help you relax rather than opening that bottle of red. Listen to your body, rather than your tastebuds. Play your favourite Activ Life online class (Yoga for Tired Legs rated most popular!) and go with the flow.
You wouldn’t leave the house without cleaning your teeth and getting dressed, would you? In the same mindset, we can start to adapt yoga into our daily routines by doing rather than just dreaming.
Louise FitzRoy is the Principal of Activ Life, a leading health and wellness company based in the Cayman Islands. If you enjoyed this article you may also like: Stress less with the one mindful step and How can I keep up a regular yoga practise?
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