Making Yoga A Part Of Your Daily Routine

This post is about several different ways you can fit yoga into your life. 



When I was taking my teacher's trainer course, this was one of the essays my instructor gave us near the end of the course. Of course, this was also a question I had in my mind throughout the year while I was taking the course. It was also not the first time our instructor asked the question in our class. He had asked the same question before but in different ways.  "How are you going to practice regularly?" "How are you going to change your diet?" "How are you going to integrate the spiritual side of yoga into your life?"

I rephrased the question as this: "How can I go beyond the mat and bring yoga with me wherever I go?"

Good question!

When many people start yoga they think it is just a bunch of stretching exercises or postures. The yoga postures (called asanas) are what bring people to the yoga classes. There is no doubt the physical side of yoga is very powerful. While doing the asanas several internal organs and muscles are getting massaged either directly or indirectly. Several muscles and joints are getting increased circulation. Many people feel more energized and relaxed after they have taken a yoga class.

For many people integrating yoga into their lives means attending classes once or twice per week or even learning yoga by watching and imitating a dvd. This is good. It is a start, but it is often not enough. They may feel good for a time, but the feeling doesn't last. The physical side alone is not a tool to fix broken relationships, or get rid of unwanted habits or cause changes on an existential plane. Many people still suffer.

The Lotus Flower (A symbol of yoga)

How you integrate yoga begins when you first open your eyes to start the day. What are your thoughts? Are they positive? You can take your thoughts and set intentions for the day. Intentions are not the same as goals. They take into account where you are in the present. Everything you need is all inside you. An example of an intention may be "Everything I have is all inside me. I do not need to look outside of myself in order to find happiness. I am happy now." Another example is when a person is struggling with a problem which there are no immediate answers, he/she can say "I have done my part to solve this problem. I surrender to the will of the Higher (for example, the Holy Spirit)."

Yoga complements all religions. Yoga has also been around for about 5 thousand years, far older than Judeo-Christianity or Islam. The book of Yoga Sutras by Patanjali is a guide for right living. It talks about the eight-fold path:

1. Samedhi-Super Consciousness (you have uninterrupted joy)
2. Dhyana-Meditation  
3. Dharana-Concentration   
4. Pratyahara-Sense Withdrawl (a thought comes but has no impact)
5. Pranayama-Mindful Breathing ("prana" means energy) 
6. Asanas- Postures   
7. Niyamas-Observances (there are 5 of them) 
8. Yamas- Restraints (there are 5 of them)

The five restraints of the Yamas are ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (nonstealing), brahmacarya (moderation), aparigraha (non hoarding).

The five observances of the Niyamas include sauca (purity), santosa (contentment), tapas (fortitiude), svadhyaya (self-study) and isvara-pranidhana (devotion to a higher power).

You can say Yamas and Niyamas are akin to the Ten Commandments with the overall theme of "do no harm."

The first four steps of the ladder, beginning with # 8, are done first. Many yoga practioners are quite happy when they have achieved the first four steps. These are enough to have a radical impact on a person's lifestyle and remove a lot of ignorance and suffering. The beginner yoga practioner should begin with the yamas and niyamas, and practice the yamas and niyamas along with the asanas and pranayamas (breath control) first. The yamas and niyamas can be practiced off the mat but can also be incorporated into an asana's class if done slowly and with concentration. Your yoga teacher can guide you through these little by little. You can also read the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. Pranayamas can also be practiced either on or off the mat, either on their own or mixed in with an asana routine. Pranayamas can also be practiced outside; for example, when one is feeling stressed or tired.

When Patanjali mentions Pratyhara (sense withdrawl), Dharana (concentration) and Dhyana (meditation) he means a person has achieved these at very deep levels for prolonged periods. Achieving these levels takes a lot of practice, commitment and time. Several other factors are involved like a complete yoga diet, hygeine, and total devotion to a yogic lifestyle. This does not mean that these levels should not be goals. We can still incorporate these into our daily lives; for example, we can begin practicing meditation for 2-5 minutes as opposed to 2 hours. When we are in an asana; for example, ekpadasana, the one-legged standing pose, where we focus on an object, we can start by trying to balance for 30 seconds on each leg and over several months, learn to double or even quadruple the time.

If it's easier for you, you can look at the eight-fold path as spokes of a wheel rather than rungs of a ladder, but the main focus initially should be on yamas, niyamas, asana, and pranayamas. We just need to develop more awareness first before we make the other ones a prioroity.

Why is the lotus flower a symbol of yoga?

There is a pose called padmasana, or the lotus pose, where one leg is stretched over one thigh and the other leg is stretched over the other thigh so that either heel is in the middle of each hip. It is a prefered position for meditation for experienced yoga practioners. There are more simplified positions. One can simply cross his/her legs and sit in a position known as Sukhasana initially.

The lotus flower is fully grounded in the earth, yet it's petals are aspiring towards the divine. The petals remain unsoiled even though the flower is found in muddy waters. The petals remain closed at night.

When you sit in the lotus pose or a modified version of this pose think about the lotus flower and the inspiring message it gives.

~Namaste~