Imagine your life without a yoga practice. Looking back at 2009, it has been a great year but also a very challenging one on so many levels. How challenging would this year be without yoga? Without a daily practice to recharge and realign?
From creating good habits to eliminating bad habits, its all about what we do only a daily, consistent basis that matters most. We become our habits and routines. "This practice becomes firmly rooted when it is cultivated skillfully and continuously for a long time." - The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali 1:14. We practice in order to become our practice and only then can we share our practice.
Interestingly enough I talk to lots of yoga teachers who don't have a daily practice who don't have the time to create for themselves what I call 'the foundation' to draw from. I know how difficult it is, to create the time, to make it a priority. It is only this year that I have moved my practice to the mornings -- and for those Kundalini yoga practioners out there, no not to 4 o'clock in the morning, just earlier than work. When I do miss a day, I feel it -- and so does everyone else. My practice is essential for a sense of ease, presence and peace throughout the day regardless of what is going on or how busy I am. As Martin Luther King Jr. would say the busier you are the more time you need to spend in prayer and meditation.
It seems these are the times when we need it most, not only for ourselves but to share it with others. Here are some tips I have gathered along the way to create a daily morning practice:
- Turn the clock back slowly - start with getting up 10-15 minutes earlier for the first month and grow from there
- Set yourself up for success before you go to bed - have your music, clothes, meditation ready to go, waiting for you in the a.m
- Find the same time everyday to practice - your body and mind will move more easily into the space.
- Create a beautiful space in your room for just you and your practice
- Create a support group at work, at your studio or community centre to keep yourself and others motivated
- Be gentle with yourself - if you miss a day, no problem just start again tomorrow
What tips do you have for a daily practice? Please share them here.
Warm regards,
Simone
Simone Riml
Monday, November 30, 2009
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