Post solely for the use of jalyoga.com.sg by Camille Conner
From reducing stress, to improving our body’s circulation—yoga has many proven benefits for living a better life. It’s no surprise to see more and more people trying out this age-old practice for themselves. In fact, studies on Community Reporter estimate that more than 300 million people are actively practising yoga across the globe. It’s especially useful for middle-aged individuals who have little time for intensive physical activity, but want to keep their body healthy. A report on Pain Free Working which found that those sit for more than nine hours a day have more health risks. Fortunately, yoga is something that you can do in short bursts, so it’s possible to do even between office hours.
However, much like any habit, successfully integrating yoga into your life won’t happen instantly. If you want to turn yoga into a daily habit, here are five things you should do.
Set goals
Setting goals is a simple thing, but it’s your first big step to turning yoga into a daily habit. Get a yoga journal to track your progress, and set a goal every week. This can be anything from mastering your headstands and splits, to consistently being able to do yoga at set intervals during the day. Having concrete goals not only adds commitment to the practice, but it’ll be extremely rewarding when you finally achieve them.
Leave Your Mat Out
It’s hard to forget to do you poses in the morning if you leave your mat out, so why not try preparing it the night before? Additionally, many yogis can attest to Yoga’s amazing ability to turn your morning around, as the act of deep breathing associated with Yoga can oxygenate the body and really wake you up. Consider poses that will take your utmost focus to hold, such as the half-pigeon pose, triangle pose, and cobra pose, to further jumpstart your brain into action.
Set up a yoga space
The best way to develop a habit is to make sure that all conditions around it are as pleasant as they can be. In this regard, it helps to have a personal yoga space at home. It can be anything from your porch to a secluded space—so long as it makes you feel calm, inspired, and at peace. You can even add a couple of items like scented candles and or some incense to make the space feel even more homey.
Stretch before you sleep
The time before bed is an opportunity to take stock of all of your day’s stress and just let go. Fortunately, one of the many things that yoga is good for is releasing all the tension from every inch of your body. A guide to easy back stretches by our Jal Team lists legs up the wall, flapping fish, and child’s pose as essential stretches to do before bed to relieve back pain. These are quick stretches you can do too, as you only need to hold each form for up to three minutes. Just make sure you’re doing this on the floor (not your bed), as you’ll need the support to hold the poses correctly.
Take an online class
If you find it difficult to naturally integrate yoga into your normal routine, consider signing up for an online class so it’s officially scheduled in. If you want the improved experience, one of our ‘More Ways to Add Fun to Your Boring Yoga Routine’ is to get a private tutor. This way, you have your instructor’s undivided attention—which can only be good if you want your forms mastered quickly.
Turning yoga into a habit is no race, so take your time. As long as you practice it every day, you’ll get there eventually.
Looking to kickstart your Yoga practice, here’s a guide for you to get started:
https://www.jalyoga.com.sg/neck-shoulder-care/
https://www.jalyoga.com.sg/keeping-calm-breathing-pranayama/
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