Some gentle ideas to start focusing on your yoga practice and make it a daily habit. 🧘♀️
Remember yoga is not just asana or physical poses, you should try to include all of the 8 limbs of yoga into your weekly routine!
Here are some ideas:
🧘♀️ Sun salutations on your first day, to help ease your body into yoga and start the week of with good intentions; welcoming the sun, this new day and new beginnings in your journey.
🧘♀️ Pranayama or Breathwork is so important for a healthy mind, body & soul. One of my favourites is alternate nostril breathing. But you can also try intercostal breathing or fire breathing! Experiment and see which breath practices you connect with.
🧘♀️Journaling / Reading - Do not skip this one! Take just 10 mins out of your day to journal about your day or your week. Write what is on your mind, any difficulties you are working through, draw a picture of your goals… journaling doesn’t have to follow a structure. It’s your own private time to focus on yourself and it can be as free as you like, no rules to follow!
Reading is also great to learn more about living a more intentional spiritual and conscious life. A few recommendations are: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz & If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie (and yes the latter is a recommendation for Men too!)
🧘♀️ Vinyasa Flow - Vinyasa is always a favourite asana practice of mine as you can adapt the sequence to fit your needs. Vinyasa can be gentle and flowing for those in need of release and calm or it can be fiery and intense for those who need heat and spark in their day. You can create your own practice, search YouTube (check out my account of course!) or attend a class.
🧘♀️Meditation - I, like many others, found this part of yoga extremely challenging when I first began. When you lead a busy life, as most of us do in this modern society, your head can be filled with so much craziness that it’s hard to quieten those thoughts. You have to change your view of meditation, from thinking you have to remove your thoughts and silence your mind, to allowing those thoughts to rise but then working through them and releasing them so you can come back to peace. Try using guided meditations on Spotify or YouTube and explore the different types such as Chakra, Mindfulness & Vipassana to see which suits you. You can also use this opportunity to connect to any divinities or Gods that are within your life. Or even the universe or the divine within yourself. For me I use this practice to increase my relationship with God and send Him thanks for everything in my life.
🧘♀️ Chanting - This is another difficult one when your first start. I know from personal experience that you can feel weird or silly doing it and embarrassed in front of other. But once you really look into WHY you are chanting and the meaning of what you are actually saying, it changes your whole perspective! Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu is my favourite chant for happiness and freedom of all, but a simple OM or LAM is a great place to start! Or why not chant an affirmation that you are familiar with such as I am Enough.
🧘♀️Self Study & Reflection - This is probably the most challenging for beginners which is why I suggest closing your first week with this Niyama of yoga. Self study is about getting to know your inner soul or emotional self. Take quiet contemplation to reflect on your emotions, reactions, goals & desires. It’s not about judging yourself, but about being open and noticing what serves you and what needs to be let go or worked on with compassion.
And of course don’t stop there! Repeat this every week to see a host of benefits and well-being within your whole self. ❤️
Comment below if you have tried any of these practices! How did they feel for you?
Zoe 🙏
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