Are you looking for ways to establish your own, personal yoga routine? Then look no further! Because trust me, I’ve been in your shoes. As a yoga teacher that helps others with their own yoga practices, creating routines – and yoga routines in general – has become my little area of expertise.
First of all: well done for wanting to integrate a yoga practice into your life! Whatever your reasons for it are, I am sure it will benefit you in some way. Here are my 7 steps on how you can start your personal yoga practice on a regular basis and change your life for the better:
- Know why you want to create your personal yoga routine
- Eliminate obstacles
- Start small and be specific
- Plan ahead
- Don’t give up if you miss a day or more
- Be patient and kind to yourself
- Be flexible and open to change
1.) Know why you want to create your personal yoga routine
With any routine, any life change in general, know why you want to do this in the first place. Think about the classic new year’s resolution. This is quite an artificial time to actually implement change. Yes, there might be a certain boost to start the new year with some new resolutions, but if I think back about the major changes I’ve implemented into my life, none of them happened around the new year. You can choose the start of a month, or a week, too, if you need that same energy. But also, why not start on a Friday?
But the timing is one thing if you’re unsure about why you want to change. There are rational decisions, which are based on wanting to do things because you’re supposed to. If that’s your motivation, that might not get you very far. Instead, really think about why you want to start a regular yoga practice. Focus on how practicing yoga makes you feel. Once you have that strong mind-to-body connection, it will be much easier. Even if you’re a complete beginner, think about why you want to practice yoga regularly. Write it down – pin it next to your yoga mat. It will make all of this that much clearer.
2.) Eliminate obstacles
Once you’ve found the reason why you want to establish a personal yoga routine, start to eliminate obstacles. Building new routines isn’t easy – but you can make it easier for yourself. What do you need to practice yoga? Maybe a yoga mat and some comfortable clothing – that’s it. So, if you want to practice in the morning, make sure to roll your mat out before you go to bed. If you can, even keep it rolled out all the time and create your own little yoga corner. Put your clothes out the night before. If you practice in the morning, maybe set up the mat right next to your bed – or maybe let the bed be your practice space!
You could also connect two activities together. Do you already have a routine where you might want to add yoga? Then it’s easier to practice yoga before or after that, say before you take your dog out for a walk. Or, try to connect your new yoga practice to something that you want to do, such as not using your phone until you’ve finished your yoga routine. This will set you up for success!
3.) Start small and be specific
I think most new resolutions or changes fail because we tend to think too big. Implementing 15 minutes of yoga into your day might be too long – after all, you are coming from 0. Why not start with 5 minutes? You can always add up once the routine is established. So, set a time that really works for you. Even one minute is better than nothing, remember that!
Be specific with what you want to implement into your yoga routine. Just movement? Meditation or pranayama as well? What might be the easiest for you to start with? If you know you struggle with movement, maybe start by meditating for 5 minutes. Then, after 2 months of that, add 3-5 minutes of movement to your already existing routine. Make it easy for yourself – starting a new routine is hard as it is.
4.) Plan ahead
The day before, plan what you want to do. Maybe search for a guided meditation or plan your yoga practice ahead of time. That will guarantee that you’re not clueless when you step onto the mat. Of course, you can always go a different route when it comes to it, but at least you have a backup. I personally find that looking for a guided yoga practice in advance really gets me excited for my practice. Of course, you can always design your own practice if you know what you want to do or focus on. After all, it is YOUR personal yoga routine. You’re in charge!
5.) Don’t give up if you miss a day or more
Something I see a lot in people’s routines is that they give up too quickly. Life happens – and your routine will always wait for you. Don’t give up if you missed a day or two because you had a friend visit you or because your day was just so busy. Get back to it the next day. You’re going on holiday? No problem, your routine will be there when you get home. This also won’t set you back to zero, it’s just a little bump in the road, that’s all. There is no need to drop all the effort you’ve put into it completely!
6.) Be patient and kind to yourself
Patience is definitely required if you want to change something. You’ll need to be patient and kind to yourself on those days when it isn’t easy. On those days when you just don’t have the time for your yoga practice. When things just didn’t go the way you planned them or when you didn’t meet your expectations. It might seem easy and perhaps insignificant, but this can really be a helpful asset for creating your personal yoga routine. So, practice daily kindness. You’ll need it eventually.
7.) Be flexible and open to change
A routine can seem like something steady and inflexible. But just like you, your routine might change. Perhaps your focus shifts. Your life situation might change – the only constant in life is change, after all. To give you an example, I started my morning routine by practicing 15 minutes of yoga. I would do 12 sun salutations and then a little bit of asana practice. These days, I am meditating for 20 minutes instead. I still practice yoga, but my focus has shifted and I prioritise meditation over physical movement. And that’s ok. Once you have the base structure, you can easily change out the individual pieces. Let your yoga practice and yoga routine grow with you!
Alright, those were my 7 steps on how you can create your own personal yoga routine. If you want to learn about stacking more habits together, you can check out this talk about creating your personal morning routine. But that might be something for later.
Please let me know how you are getting on in the comments and don’t forget to share this with a friend!
You’re doing amazing!