How Your Yoga Practice can Help You Tackle Other New Year’s Resolutions
How Your Yoga Practice can Help You Tackle Other New Year’s Resolutions
50% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. How do you stop yourself from being on the short end of the statistics? Your yoga practice can help! Here are some lessons that you have learned in your yoga classes that translate well into helping you keep your resolutions.
- Working from where you are now
Yoga teaches us to tune in to how we’re feeling in this moment and work from there. At the beginning of this new year, take some time to tune in to how you’re feeling. What are you grateful for in your life? What would you need to change in order to feel better every day? Can you set realistic goals that take your real life into account?
For example, if you have a fitness resolution, setting a goal to work out seven days a week when you have kids and a full-time job will doom you before you begin. Instead, set a goal that works for your schedule and restrictions – maybe getting to the gym or a class once a week along with doing a home workout once a week. If you hit those goals for a month, then consider upping the ante, working off your own momentum. This will give you the chance to grow throughout the year instead of ending before you can really get started.
- Listening to your body and doing what you need
No resolution will work for you every day of the year. Yoga teaches us to listen to our bodies and do what works for us right now. There will be some days where you’re fighting to maintain balance in your life, and sometimes that balance means your resolutions have to be temporarily shelved. If you can practice compassion with yourself, it will help you get back on the horse when you inevitably fall off. Always forcing yourself to follow your resolutions will eventually backfire, so slowing down and listening to what your body and mind need throughout the year will be a more sustainable practice.
- Practicing mindfulness when you’re feeling resistant
Sometimes resistance to new habits happens because we need a break, but resistance can also happen because of old habits asserting themselves. When you’re feeling like doing anything except what you resolved to do for the new year, use your yoga practice of “checking in” to see why. What do you need at this moment? Moments of resistance can also be a good time to clarify whether this resolution is something you want or something you felt you “should” do. If it’s something you truly want to follow through on, meditating on moments of resistance can help you recommit and push through the tough spots.
When you think about your New Year’s resolutions, it can help to do a yoga practice or meditation before you write them down. Clearing your head and doing some deep breathing can clarify some of your goals and intentions for the year.
Happy New Year, and good luck with your New Year’s resolutions!
