Motivation to practice: why practice yoga?

Why practice yoga? There is a multitude of different answers to this question. As with any long -term relationship, our practice evolves over time; It ebts and flows. Sometimes our practice feels fresh and vital; Other times it can feel like we have hit a plateau. Sometimes we can drop the practice for a while and with others we can look forward to stepping on the mat or being on our meditation cushion. It can be useful to remember why we decided to prioritize the yoga practice in the first place. Thinking about our first motivation to practice can help us not only maintain consistency, but also inspiration.

3 tips for developing motivation to practice

When I look at my motivation to practice, I have discovered that it is very simple. I practice because after 37 years of meditation and 43 years of yoga I acknowledge the immeasurable value they bring in my life. I don’t practice because terrible damage would happen to me if I didn’t. It is not just something that I have added to my daily task list. It’s none should have to. I trust the practice. I have faith in practice. And it is not a blind faith, but a belief that has been verified by decades of experience.

How do we develop motivation to practice? Whether our core practice is yoga or meditation, we often have to be reminded why we do it. Here are some tips to stay on the path:

• Think of your practice as part of your morning ritual, a way to maintain the health of your body/mind. We don’t think twice about eating a decent breakfast, brushing our teeth, showering, etc. Yoga and meditation practices are ways in which we balance our bodies and spirits.
• When you put aside the time to practice, give it your full attention. You have enough time to go through your task list, or to think about that difficult conversation you had with someone yesterday. You have time to formulate your answer to that person – later. Use your practice time to invest your complete consciousness in what you feel in your body and mind, here and now. Your practice time is expensive. It deserves your attention and care.
• Think about the value of your practice in your daily life. According to the yoga -sutras, the advantage of the Asana practice is the cultivation of equanimity in the face of the ups and downs of our lives. This can apply to minute daily annoyances, or it can apply to major challenges and losses. The benefits can be subtle or clear. What benefits have you experienced? You can remind you of this why you practice and help you stay motivated.

Trust your yoga and meditation practices

Thinking about the value of practice in your life can be difficult. Although there are advantages that you can feel immediately when you practice yoga and meditation, some of the deeper benefits are subtle. This is where reflecting on the millennia-long history of these practices can be useful. Yoga and meditation have survived for thousands of years. They survived because millions of people have picked their benefits. So even if you just start, and the benefits you experience are on the more subtle side, trust the process. Approach your practice with an open, curious spirit. Think about why you love your practice. Then take your meditation cushion or your yoga mat, open your mind and see where your exercise takes you to today.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell discovered Yoga in 1982 and started teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. Her third book is entitled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Guide to Protect the hips and avoiding SI joint pain (Shambhala publications). She writes a monthly column for Catalyst Magazine and serves as an editor for Yoga U online. Charlotte is one of the founders of board member for GreenTree Yoga, a non-profit organization that brings yoga to disadvantaged population. Charlotte, a lifelong musician, plays oboe and English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and Folk Sextet Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy Awards.