How much time do you have for yourself and Yoga?
Most of us may say.. I don't have time.
And we all know that we must make time for ourselves somehow...
But how? When? Do we have to let our other priorities suffer? (notice I said other "priorities" assuming yoga would be one of them?- we know it should be)
Well... many of us just hope to be able to get a shower or to have time to sleep... much less to do yoga.. but we argue with ourselves we would feel better and be able to get more done with yoga in ourlives.. so catch 22? Where do we begin?
If you are lucky.. you have time to go to the gym and time to do a longer 90 minute personal practice at home, but not all of us are that lucky.
Well... we begin with smaller steps.. of what is feasible, not the impossible. We are, after all, trying to make our lives better, not more stressful.
What is your first focus? Diet? Breathing? Meditation? Asanas? or Daily attitude?
Start with 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes before you go to bed.. maybe 5 minutes sometime during the day. Or start with fixing breakfast habits (not with the entire day).
If you want to change your diet, begin with a healthy morning. Maybe a big glass of water and a good fruit... followed by a protein an hour or so later.. perhaps some hot tea or organic coffee.
For your exercise.. if you have never done yoga before, I suggest learning a warm up sequence and perhaps the simple sun salutation (we can help you here if you ask). Do a warm up starting in bed or on the floor in the bedroom. this should only take a minute or two. Then add one or more sunsalutations, which is just another few minutes.
Repeat this in the afternoon or evening before bedtime.
You can also learn some Yin Yoga. There is a great book listed under the book thread that explains many of the moves. Yin yoga gets the faschia stretched (the deep tissues in the body). Yin yoga is very slow. Basically you would get into a pose (the poses are relaxing mostly) and hold it for 2-5 minutes (like during a commercial break). You can start by picking 2-3 to do in a day based on what you need to work on.. such as hips or shoulders or legs, etc...
Breathing.... learn the basic three of Ujjayi (throat breath), Deerga Swasm (3 part breath) and Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breath). Build from these by taking a class or getting a good book. You can do these breaths for a few minutes anytime in the day. I suggest trying 2-3 times a day such as morning, evening, and afternoon.
You can build on this to make a full pranayama (breathing) session or lead into a meditation.
Meditation.. start with breathing excercises (see above). Then make sure to have a focal point such as a candle, painting, window, mandala, or the Ajna chakra (the third eye).
Start by trying something everyday and build on that. Don't over exert yourself or quit because it costs money to go to a studio. you can do many things at home and build your practice to suit your needs.
Please ask whatever you would like... we are here for each other.
Namaste
