Motivation & Discipline – Part II: Find your happy place!

Maybe it sounds too flaky hippy to tell you to find your happy place, but I don’t know how else to describe it. It is within all of us just waiting to be discovered!

After I started practicing on my own I found that I didn’t need to search for motivation or discipline. Yoga made me feel so happy and incredible that suddenly I had the power and motivation inside me! It was just hard to find.

Here is how I found it… At some point in my practice, usually early on during the lunges or standing poses a feeling of peace and calm would wash over me. I would feel incredible in my body. Once it comes over me I let it consume my mind and body and allow it to build inside me. It is such an amazing experience, and hands down the best part of yoga. It will make all of your problems of the day wash away and seem minuscule.

It is this blissful feeling that translated into motivation and discipline for me. No longer did those words have a negative connotation. That feeling is what draws me to my practice.

I discovered this happy place through yoga, and now it has translated into my daily life! I hope that I can help you realize this amazing effect of yoga. You have this ability within your body and just have to tap into it. Then yoga is easy, your body will crave it, and it will make you feel so good that you cannot even imagine a life before it.

Check out a video of my practice space below!

This is the most important part of your practice. There are a few things that held me back initially from practicing on my own outside of a studio. I have lived in small apartments and had a lot of furniture and would kick things when I would try to practice. That would hurt and I wouldn’t want to practice anymore! Or I had roomates so I couldn’t practice in the space of the living room without worrying they would think I was weird.

Looking back it was all part of the process my mind had to go through before I became comfortable enough with my body to just practice. Of course now I am over the thoughts of people thinking I am weird (I’m glad I’m not normal!) But I understand how early on you might not want people to see you practice…after all this is a very personal time spent with your body!

So slowly I sold furniture I didnt need and cleared more space (which felt great since I was kind of a collector of things I really didnt need! There was a lot involved in my cleansing process!)

Now I have set up a permanent space that is big enough for my mat where I can stretch my legs out in downward dog and swing my arms around beside me. I keep all my props within reach.

For me it was very important to have a permanent space for practicing. I could have done some minor furniture rearrangements each time I practiced, but for me over time that became too much a a hassle and I wouldn’t get on my mat. Moving the furniture also set me with a great excuse of not wanting to move the coffee table, so therefor I wouldnt practice that day. (as you can see discipline is a hard one for me.)

So my area is always ready for me to roll out my mat and start practicing. I also have made sure to have an area of wall space open without any pictures so I can have an area to practice inversions as well as some other stretches and postural excercises.

BONUS:
I am a bit of a narcissist and really like to see how I am progressing in my practice so I have set up a giant mirror in my living room. The mirror is a great critic to show me where I need to build strength to take the poses further. This also has the added bonus of making the room look bigger!

Check out what my practice space looks like here!

Motivation & Discipline

Part 1: Where do I get some of that?

Motivation and discipline are characteristics that I felt I didn’t have and struggled with for quite a while. I spent four years going to drop in or structured classes and learned some, but felt I couldn’t bring it home. I had trouble just getting on my mat and practicing.

At first it did take a little discipline. Ok, a lot! I would come home from work, put on my 3 second breath cycle cd, and set up my practice area. I still found ways to avoid the practice for a while spending time cleaning up my apartment or calling friends. But after a while I would know I had to get some type of a practice in. I followed the structure my teacher had given me with the Smart Yoga approach. Sometimes I would use a pranayama exercise to calm my mind and breath. When I first started practicing on my own it wouldn’t be for very long. Sometimes only half an hour. And I always experienced great benefits from any little bit of yoga I did.

Yoga builds. My practice built slowly. But now there are times when I loose hours to practicing yoga within that happy realm of motion. It might not be everyday, but it is constantly evolving.

When you get home, clear a space, roll out your mat and enjoy your body!

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Welcome to the Smart Yogini Newsletter!

In these newsletters you will find tips and experiences I found important in my exploration of yoga. There will also be links to videos or extended explanations located at my website. All of this information is provided without any commitment from you. I believe that the experience of yoga is something that should be shared and available to everyone. Check out my website at www.smartyogini.com. The content is low right now, but will be building quickly! Soon there will be picture and video demonstrations of tips and things that I found really helped me along with the practice of a yogic lifestyle!

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To help students realize that they have the ability to create a practice of asana that is special to them. To aid in the initiation or development of a personal practice of yoga.

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I am a student of yoga with the intention to share my experiences in my discovery and incorporation of the lifestyle of yoga.

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