What does it take for you to break a habit, well quite a lot actually, according to some psychologists, 95% of our daily actions are habitual, this means that most of our actions happen below the levels of consciousness. Like getting up in the morning, brushing your teeth, driving your car, these are all things we do every day without even thinking about it. These things happen below our levels of consciousness and things that we have to do. However, how about the hard wired things that aren’t so good for us, like watching that amazingly addictive series on Netflix, or spending hours on social media. It is fine, but too much of it can take us off track and waste precious time!
So why is it so hard to keep on track? Remember that we do live in a pretty distracting world, so don’t be so hard on yourself, our brain has a natural propensity to be hardwired and tends to go into automatic pilot without thinking. Don’t forget that your brain needs time out to relax and do nothing too.
Remember that we can learn new ideas and new healthy habits due to the amazing nature of the neuroplasticity of the brain. We can create new ways of being, but it does take a little effort from yourself to commit to making that change and doing your practise. So here are a couple of ideas how we can leverage the power of your brain so that you can practise yoga.
Write down what asana, sequence or pranayama that you need to practise? There is always something that you will need to brush up on, maybe it’s learning a new Sanskrit word for a particular posture, or you need to go over the Windmill breath. Put it on a post it note and put it on the wall, mirror or door.
Bring a sense of real curiosity into your practise, make it interesting. Your practise needs to create dopamine in your brain, why is this, because dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter in your brain that contributes to the way we feel pleasure, satisfaction and reward. So make your practise really interesting and rewarding and be creative, bring a sense of curiosity into your movements. Keep your practise fresh and different each time. See what thoughts come up while you’re practising asana or pranayama. If it brings up some positivity or negativity, that’s great, record it, journal it and don’t forget to speak to your teacher about it.
One idea I like to do is always keep a yoga mat out or even a yoga block/band to one side; this helps to remind me to do some practise. I also like to keep a favourite yoga book out as well, this helps me to realise that yoga isn’t all about asanas (postures) and pranayama (breath work), it’s also about reading too! Don’t forget to read your yoga philosophy stories in your folder, I find them fascinating. Try reading a verse out of the Bhagavad Gita if you have a copy. It’s so important to enrich the mind and ask yourselves some deep questions about life, this is where journaling comes into play again.
Another yoga practice that we can forget is savasana, relaxation is imperative for our yoga practice. Over the years I have learned that this is the way to healing the body, mind & spirit in a profound way. If you don’t have the time or energy to do your Energy Block Release session, you need to do a relaxation! Or just do a simple activation.
