Continuity of Practice

Continuity of practice…that phrase has been going through my mind often over the past few weeks. My husband and I are long-time students of the Monday night Yin class at The Yoga Room. So we, of course, are grateful to have the weekly audio sessions that Christina is recording in lieu of in-person classes right now. We started off strong in the early days of the pandemic, religiously keeping our Monday evening yoga time slot. It was easier to do when the weather was still chilly and it wasn’t as nice to be outside. However, once summer rolled around we started to get away from our routine. Things came up: bike rides, yardwork, opening the pool, taking a vacation. A few times we’d say, ‘It’s so nice this evening, let’s just do yoga tomorrow when it’s supposed to rain.’ And then you know what would happen? It wouldn’t rain the next day, and we’d forget about yoga. I tend to be pretty self-disciplined, so at some point during the week I’d remember that we hadn’t done yoga yet, and I’d do the audio session (whether somebody else did it with me or not ;)). And every time I did it I’d always feel better afterward–more grounded, calmer. And as much as my husband isn’t quite the die-hard yogi that I am, he knows it’s good for him and he does actually want to do it. So…we realized we needed to get back into the routine. No more making excuses for why we can’t do Yin on Monday evenings. Just put it on the schedule, every Monday. (OK, we’re not going to obsess and be super-strict to the point of it being some kind of punishment, but you get the gist!) Why? Because it’s human nature to get lazy, forgetful or pre-occupied, and we do better when we have a routine. Because if we get away from it our bodies start to hurt and ache more, and we feel our stress levels rise. Because self-care is super-important, and it should be a priority. Because continuity of practice is important. Any serious yoga practitioner knows this. So this is a shout-out to any of you who have also struggled with keeping your yoga routine. I hear you, and I’m encouraging you to get back to doing your yoga practice on your normal day, and even at the normal time if you can. (And if you can’t do that, pick another day and time that works better for you now, and stick with that.) I promise you will feel better–every time.