It can be a challenge squeezing your home hatha yoga practice into your daily schedule without feeling harried. My daily commute from my door step to my office in Southwest Washington, DC is just about one hour. Consequently, my mornings can feel hectic after waking up, doing yoga, doing some aerobics, taking a shower, dropping my son off to school, and heading to work.
To offset the harried morning pace AND include a calm, serene, and focused home yoga practice session I use a timer. This might seem sacrilegious, but it really isn't. On week day mornings I use a timer for my 25 minutes of yoga practice. (on weekends I set it for 30-35 minutes). I get down on my mat, turn on the timer, and proceed with my relaxing practice.
No need to constantly look up at the clock or at my watch. Now what happens if the timer goes off in the middle of the pose? This happens infrequently. If it does, I just calmly complete the pose and go into the Savasana (complete relaxation) pose for at least 1-2 minutes and then I am on my way.
When I set the timer for 25 minutes on a weekday, I include a 5-minute time buffer to allow me to complete a final pose and to rest in the Savasana at least briefly after the session. Using a timer -any simple, inexpensive kitchen countdown timer will do - although nowadays you can even find timers made specially for yoga with dual timing functions (one to count your total practice time; the other to time each pose - seems complicated to me!). Using a timer allows me to totally put my heart and focus into my practice. Try it!
Wisdom of the Day: "Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success." ~ Yogi Swami Sivananda
Comments