From reading a book with your legs up the wall, to organising a weekly yoga date with your friends.
Our aim is for every Activ Life student to walk away from class with at least one resonating tool that they can insert into their everyday life. That's when we can say we've done our job.
Here are my top 10 tips to help you find more time for yoga and consequently, improve your practise and overall state of wellbeing.
Practise often, practise consistently. This includes at work, sitting at your desk. Activ Life offers lots of corporate yoga options including Chair Yoga. Did you know that there are countless yoga poses you can practise sitting on your chair and/or using your desk?
Have fun. It's great to have focus and determination, but no need to take yourself too seriously. If you fall out of Tree Pose, use that immediate frustration as energy to get straight back into that balance. Trick: a little smile in Savasana can really help to relax you into this pose.
Be aware of how yoga affects your daily life. For example, my range of motion when reaching around to grab something from the shelf behind me is far greater than it use to be. I still catch myself slouching occasionally, but recognise when this is happening, giving me the ability to change my posture if I so desire. I'll catch myself balancing on one leg as I wait for the kettle to boil, and automatically begin deep diaphragmatic breathing when times get stressful.
Find teachers and studios you love.
Try and steal 5 minutes for yourself daily. Just to sit quietly as soon as you get out of bed in the morning, to soak up the new day; when the house is quiet and your mind has not yet caught up on the list of jobs for the day.
Listen to a favorite yoga podcast as you drive to and from work.
Wear yoga clothes that fit, feel comfortable, and don't need to be adjusted every few minutes during your power yoga flow. You'll want to slide into them every moment of the day, meeting friends for coffee, doing the grocery shopping and picking the kids up from school; not just for practicing yoga.
Make yoga friends, so that a yoga class becomes your regular catch up and then you can go out for coffee together afterwards wearing your Lululemon! Your friends will make you commit to class, and motivate you to turn up even on those days when you least feel like rolling out your mat.
Sit in a yoga pose while watching television or reading a book. There's hardly an evening that goes by that I don't read a few pages before bed with my legs up the wall. Occasionally watching television sitting on the floor in Bound Angle Pose.
Read our previous blog to follow likeminded yogis on Instagram for more ideas on building your yoga practise.
Louise FitzRoy is the Principal of Activ Life, a leading health and wellness company based in the Cayman Islands. If you enjoyed this article you may also like: How can I keep up a regular yoga practise? and Why do you practise yoga?