How do we build a yoga practice?
For a new yoga enthusiast, this may be the first question we ask… “How do we build a yoga practice?”
I’m here to tell you I have asked this of myself many times. Although I wanted to build a practice for some reason I kept finding excuse after excuse for why I couldn’t do it now or get started today. After far too long I decided to call myself out on the bullshit and hold myself accountable.
I will say I am blessed in that I work for myself and my schedule is way more flexible than most people’s schedules. On Wednesday, two days ago I said screw it and I got the mat out and tried a new warm-up sequence I have been wanting to try. It felt great and it was wonderful to have a session under my belt at home.
I created an article here titled – Why is it so hard to build my yoga practice?“. Have a read if you’d like. Basically, I wrote this article, to offer an honest example of the struggle I was facing. Something happened though that kind of surprised me. The first step to building your yoga practice is just getting started. So on Wednesday, I checked that first box off the list.
The next thing I noticed was that I felt good and confident even though I knew it was far from a perfect session. There was something triggered in my mind though that said… “Hey, you should try to do this same session tomorrow.”. So you know what? I did the same session again on Thursday (yesterday).
I think the article helped my mind internalize and make a deeper commitment or maybe offer a reward for celebrating the small win. Doing it again yesterday, I did a small celebration of two days down and felt really good. So today I did it again. It felt good and I’m documenting things with another article.
You might want to try to journal after your sessions to add another boost to build momentum and internal rewiring of the brain. I am no expert in this space, but I do know those brain cells that fire together wire together and this is all about habit-building right?
So how do we build a yoga practice? Here are quick thoughts…
- Make a decision that you want to do it
- Commit to this decision
- Potentially buy a yoga mat or package if you need one.
- Find a sequence or a few poses you’d like to do in your session (or find an online course, DVD, or Youtube session you can go through)
- Get started!
- Take a few to notice how you feel. Take it all in.
- Then take a moment to celebrate even in a small way potentially by saying “Way to go!” and/or maybe by taking a selfie to remember and to visually see yourself in your happy post-session happiness.
- Do it again.
You may decide you want to build a daily session or try for 1 to 3 times a week whatever works best for you – can do that. For me, I would like to build a daily practice because I know if I can get started and commit it is easier for me to be consistent. So I have practiced the last 3 days straight. We’ll see how my progress builds over time, but I am happy to have accomplished 3 days in a row.
If my ideas do not work for you, find some that will. I mean it is easy to do a search for “how do we build a yoga practice?” to explore your own research and find another expert you trust. You can do this. Anyone can. Any body type, any age, any sex, and mobility or whatever your current physical activity. That’s what I love about yoga you can start with Gentle Chair Yoga or a beginner yoga program or you can find solutions for all types of needs. Do what feels best for you.
I thought I would share a beginner yoga video in case this helps you get started.
Good Luck! You CAN DO THIS!
I am a yoga fan and practitioner, and studying to get a yoga teacher certificate. I am building the Yoga Directory to try to build a supportive and friendly online community as well as a way to find and try more yoga studios and styles of yoga locally. I want to help others do the same and grow their yoga practice.
I come from a mindfulness background and seem to resonate mostly with a spiritual-based yoga practice that may hail from roots in India.
I run a business called Hellagood Life which offers online education, community, and coaching in many areas for living one's best life. I find Yoga is a great addition to the other trainings I offer.
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