Healthy Habits: 6 Do’s & Don’ts for Starting a Yoga Practice and Making It Stick
It’s no secret that yoga offers a myriad of health benefits, from stress relief to improved strength and mobility, so why aren’t you doing it regularly? Forming any new habit, even a healthy one, can be challenging; you’re busy and there’s only so many hours in the day after all.
Studies suggest that the more regularly you practice yoga, the greater the benefits, so it’s worth taking the time to make it a regular part of your week. Even practicing once a week can improve your physical health and sense of mental wellbeing.
Here are a few basic tips to keeping your practice on the right path:
Do:
Designate a self-care day
Adding in yoga to an already chockablock schedule might seem ambitious, so consider setting aside one evening or morning each week devoted to self-care, such as yoga and meditation.
Reward your successes
Research shows that adding a motivational reward - like a bite of dark chocolate - after your practice can be instrumental in making your new habit stick.
Identify obstacles to your success
It can be helpful to identify what’s standing in between you and your practice. Is it lack of time? Find a 20 minute practice online. Lack of motivation? Invite a friend to accompany you to class and hold you accountable.
Don’t:
Set unrealistic goals
If you’re brand new to yoga, setting a goal of practicing for an hour every day may be unreasonable. Start with once a week and focus on getting consistent there.
Get discouraged
It’s normal to feel daunted by new things, but remember that everyone who looks like they woke up in the splits was new too, once. Enjoy being at the beginning of your journey - there’s still so much to experience!
Relegate Self-Care
Self-care is fundamental to our wellbeing, yet we often place it all the way down at the bottom of the priorities list. Without it, we become depleted, short-tempered and resentful. Prioritize your practice and consider it a gift to everyone who surrounds you.
Some aspects of this article are adapted from my book Restorative Yoga for Beginners, ©Callisto Media Inc, 2019
