Tips to Starting over Again

I am sitting in a yoga class and feeling way out of my league. I've attended classes before; but that was before I hit a rut and stopped practicing for a while. As I move through my vinyasas and my poses I am thinking, 'I know this, I can do this!' Yet my body does not want to keep up. My downward dog feels awkward and forget about warrior three. I had been practicing yoga for about three and half years and I have never felt this out of place or this dysfunctional. However, I am determined to get back into the grove and back onto my path of owning my own studio.

I was introduced to yoga in 2011 while I was living in Calgary, AB. I was living with a friend of my at-the-time-boyfriend and she took me to a class. She brought me there because she saw that I was struggling with depression and knew yoga would help. Unfortunately at the time, I was not open to yoga and natural remedies for your health. I was very lost and very stubborn. I did not touch a mat after that class until 2014.

So years passed and I tried again and I fell in love. I practiced daily. I became very connected with myself, very peaceful, lost weight, felt great, looked great, took great care of myself. Best time of my life. Then I allowed myself to slip back into depression. I stopped practicing for about eight months. Recently, I started back again at a yoga studio at home here. I am disciplining myself and getting back on track. It is not easy and if you're anything like me, you're an impatient millennial who wants to be back at their best NOW. So here are some things I take into consideration and practice to help me get back on track.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

Yes, you know how good you were. Yes, you could touch your head to your knees no problem. Yes, you built enough patience and strength to do a headstand. Yes you had learned control over your body and mind. Yet, here you are. Losing your breath, unable to focus in tree pose, and you can barely touch your fingers to your toes let alone your head to your knees. Remember, yoga is not about fast-paced results; it's about slowly and effectively building a connection to yourself and to the world around you. Fitness and flexibility are just wonderful side effects. Be mindful of this and be aware that getting back into shape takes time. It is so frustrating being back to doing beginners' poses to rebuild yourself but taking this time to rebuild will be worth it in the end.

You're not crazy to feel like you need to overdo yourself as well to try to bring yourself back. Except that will just burn you out in the end. So please practice patience, self-love, acceptance, discipline, initiative, and power within yourself so you can slowly and effectively rebuild. Rebuilding isn't just about the finished product, it's about building a strong foundation and a good frame to make it less likely you will slip again in the future. Patience is a virtue.

Hit your mat daily.

Now, I know I literally just wrote to not overdo yourself. However, I am not saying hit your mat for three hours everyday. Even if it is just to sit on it to open up some tight hips or to do a full 75-minute practice, hit your mat.

Meditate

Personally, I meditate at night before bed. I lie in my bed in a comfortable position. Sometimes my meditations are guided, sometimes they are independent. For my guided meditations, I tend to use a podcast called Tracks to Relax. It is very easy to listen to and follow along with. So if you are new to meditation and are not sure where to start, I suggest you start with something along the lines of a podcast or YouTube channel. For my independent ones, I usually start in bed in a comfortable position. As I am lying there, I will go over my chakras and say a small mantra for each one. I will start with my root chakra and say "I am stable. I am secure. I am strong. I am safe. I am okay." Then I will move to my sacral chakra and say "I adore my sensual, sexual self. I adore my creative and intuitive self. I embrace these and will use these to connect with those around me." You get the idea. You can always research the chakras and their meanings and build your own mantras that speak to you for each chakra. That is what I have done. After I have finished doing a once over on my chakras, I envision my body shutting down. I begin in my feet and work my way up to my head. Imagining each body part; each toe, each leg, each arm, etc., shutting down and falling asleep.

Meditating at night I find gives you a better and deeper sleep as well as allows you to build a connection within yourself as you learn about the different chakras and aspects that make you, you. Meditation is a great way to learn and build your mindfulness techniques which allow you to focus and deepen your practice.

Eat right.

I find when I eat poorly I have less motivation to do anything. This means less motivation to get myself back into the best me that I can be. This is not good. Stay away from processed foods, artificial sugars, alcohol, drugs, etc. Honestly, I need to get away from all of that again. A couple years ago I went six months without fast foods or artificial sugars and it was the best six months of my life. I cannot tell you how well my mind and body felt at that time. Eating right has such an effect on your mental state as well as your emotional state. I know when I have too much sugar, I get easily depressed. So I try to stay away from sugar. When I eat too much fast food, I feel bloated and gross and my anxiety increases and self-esteem decreases. Just for a week, monitor what you eat and your emotional and physical state within the next few hours. Some things may surprise you when you become mindful of yourself. This allows you to learn more about your body so you can treat it right and let it treat you right. Honestly, if people realized what your body does for you for even just ten seconds to keep you alive, we would have more appreciation and respect for our bodies and how we treat them.

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

Schedule your days. This makes sure that you are able to properly maintain all that you need to successfully and effectively maneuver the day as well as makes sure you can fit some you time with your mat in. I cannot tell you how much I love schedules. I have a calendar at home that I keep all my notes, appointments, work schedules, grocery shopping days, etc on there. And it is just me that lives with me. Outside of my two cats.

Anyways, schedules are great because then you make use of your time. You budget your money do you not? Why not budget your time. You want to make the most of your money, yet more money can always be made. But you won't make the most of your time, yet more time cannot be created. Manage your time. Manage your life. You can do this!

These are some tips that I find useful for keeping me on track and me keeping myself in line. I am a huge procrastinator and easily unmotivated so I need to keep myself on track and these ways I find are the best. Comments and criticism are welcome.