My Top 5 tips for incorporating a yoga practice into my daily routine
Embrace Daily Yoga for Physical and Mental Harmony - Emma Mills
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No one has ever said “I regret practicing yoga everyday”.
Now more than ever it is essential to check in and carve out some time for your physical and mental well-being, if you have nothing left in the well-being tank then you have nothing to give to those around you or the projects in your life that matter.
So here are my 5 quick tips to get that daily practice in:
1. Make it a habit – To do this attach your yoga practice to an existing habit in your daily routine, if you already have a bedtime routine do this as normal but add in 10 minutes of gentle yoga to aid sleep. Or if you get an hour for lunch, find a quiet spot and focus on your breathing, if your lucky and have enough space for physical practice an energetic yoga flow will trigger a positive and happy feeling you can take throughout the rest of your day.
2. Start small – As we settle into this new habit we are trying to create, we don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves so set aside just a small amount of time to practice, a few minutes a day can make a big difference, we can gradually increase this time if and when we choose to, always listen to your body, it will tell you if you listen.
3. Find your style – Yoga now comes in many different forms and styles, sometimes people give up on yoga because it was too fast or too (dare I say boring)! But yoga is unique to you, don’t give up, just explore before you commit to a class. Some popular styles include, Hatha, Vinyasa, Nidra and Hot yoga, I have even seen a ‘goat yoga’ class if that’s your cup of chi.
4. Reward yourself – Normally when we set a goal and achieve it, we find a way to reward ourselves, yoga is no different if you set yourself a goal of ‘yoga for 5 minutes everyday when I wake up in the morning for a week’ then reward yourself at the end of that week with popcorn and a movie on the sofa or an hour reading your favourite book.
5. Try meditation – Meditation or ‘Dhyana’ is a part of yoga just like the physical practice, dhyana forms a connection with self and the universe, it brings your mental awareness to a higher state of consciousness and is easily practised during the day or night, it all counts towards your daily practice.
In reality the true focus of yoga is spiritual attainment not physical performance so the goal of yoga is to find peace and harmony between breathe and body which is why your yoga teacher is telling you to ‘move with the breath’ ‘breathe in and reach the arms up’ we are looking for that connection.
After all, asana practice is just one limb of yoga, not the whole tree!
Emma Mills
Emma is a 200hr qualified yoga teacher, specialising in Hatha Yoga and breathwork, aside from this she has completed many CPD yoga courses and recently completed a 'flexibility workshop'.
She is currently teaching voluntarily online and being inclusive to every student is always at the forefront of her mind when setting up a class.
Using social media and the discovery of Instagram she has been able to reach out and share the joys of practicing yoga with many other likeminded people.
