Winning is great but its the taking part that counts!
DAY 3 — Still 10,13! Lol, thats fine. I have only done one full yoga session on the day of my first (previous) blog since my last weigh in… ;-)
(Today I can tell you I am so happy because off the back of my first “Don´t call me Yogi” blog I am invited to my friends house this morning to do a joint yoga practice in her garden. This is great, this is mutual support, this is just what I was hoping for. Thank you for the invite Marianne!)
Winning is great but its the taking part that counts; remember your mum used to say this? Well, this time the only competition is our Will Power and the resistance the lack of it causes our Bods…
I have some advice, for when its hard to start the yoga session, for when you are telling yourself you will do it later (you WON¨T!) For when you feel all sluggish and like you don´t really have time — YOU DO! Because you have 3–5 minutes! And here´s how to trick yourself at least out of sluggishness, and maybe but not necessarily (!) into a yoga session.
Advice — Or a cunning Ploy?!
Yesterday morning I was up and out early to have a session of Cambo Medicine administered by my good friend and Cambo Practitioner who happens to be back in Malvern for the weekend. I knew I would feel pretty rough for a few hours, and that come 12.30 I had to drive to Stansted airport and back — So I thought, ok no yoga.
BUT — I did, go and sit on the matt. Yay for me! I sat quietly, comfortably on the mat and I took a few nice deep breaths while I mentally scanned my body; then I started really breathing. In deeply through the nose and out through the mouth. To ensure control over the exhale I sort of close my throat a bit and make an hahhhhhhhrrrrrrrrr sound. The trick is count the time it takes to breath out and empty your lungs, and make every exhale last a second or so longer. I try to go from 10 to 20 seconds. 20 is hard. 20 takes a good five minutes for me to achieve.
My cunning plan is to trick the self into thinking, its ok, I don´t HAVE to do Yoga. I can just sit on the matt and do my breathing and if the mood doesnt take me having done my 3 or 5 minutes of breathing, then the mood doesn’t take me and I am off the HOOK. BUT people, the beautiful part of this ploy is that you find yourself quite fancying a quick downward dog when you get up, and then maybe just one salute to the sun, then another one and before you know it your thinking, yeah, this feels good, I am starting to wake up and feel alive, I´ll carry on for 10 mins. So you´ve gone from “Nahhhh Not feeling the matt today” to “but I will do that few minutes of deep breathing just to open my lungs” To “oh go on then, seeing as I am here….” Doing a bit of yoga.
And it doesnt have to be a practice, 10 minutes if you have to be quick or 20 minutes if you want to enliven the body but don´t want a full session, is just fine. Great in fact. Because its much much better than nothing at all. JUST the breathing, is a MUCH better way to start your day. You really realise how little we properly open our lungs. And, ok so, “dont call me yogi” but any actual Yogi will tell you, that 75% (I´m estimating) of the essence of yoga is in the breath.
CAVEAT — listen to your body. If after this 5 minutes on the matt breathing you are still not feeling the yoga you might be better off not practising that day. Its ok to not force yourself. If you are not feeling the strength to hold you body correctly you may do yourself harm; don´t want anyone toppling over! ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR BODY: this is what the 3–5 minutes of breathing is for, to sit and listen to your body.
Happy morning breath everyone thanks for taking part– and if a yoga stretch or two comes of it THEN, you´re winning!
Oh my GOSH its 9.27, I have to get russian! ;-) xx