Start your New Year with yoga!

This year I will take up yoga.

This year I will do more yoga.

It’s a resolution we’ve probably heard before. Yoga is a perfect way to start off the new year. If you’ve practised yoga on and off, want to get more into your practice, are a newcomer or just want to know what all the fuss is about, here’s you chance. It’s the New Year and practising yoga is a resolution you can achieve easily!

Yoga is all about making time for practice. If you already attend a class, this means home practice as well. If you don’t make time for yoga, you’re not going to progress. Furthermore, you’re missing out on the diverse benefits yoga offers. However, this is the one issue that stumps many people. If you work, if you study, if have a family, if you have to cook, if you have to clean, if you have places to go and people to see, fitting in yoga might seem impossible but it doesn’t have to be.

If you’re pressed for time there are a range of ways you can incorporate yoga into your day.

Salute that sun: Wake up 30 minutes early (OK, 15 minutes if you really like your sleep) and fit in a few rounds of sun salutations. The salute to the sun is quick and easy. You can choose the traditional 10 step routine or incorporate some other postures such as warrior one and two as variations. The salute to the sun is great to do in the morning as a way to wake up the body and warm you up. Do some sets at a quick pace as a great exercise or slow it down and focus on your breath to achieve the deeper benefits of yoga.

Yoga while you work: Do you sit in front of a computer all day for work (or play)? If your answer is yes, then you most likely experience some kind of neck or back pain or strain, no matter how slight or extreme. Taking a break and incorporating some simple yoga stretches and twists will not only help relieve tension and pain but will help improve strength and flexibility. It may only be very basic stuff, but will help feed into your overall practice.

Take advantage of summer: The sun is out and you should enjoy it. Try yoga on the beach or take your mat onto your porch or garden. Try doing yoga after work, just before or during sunset to enjoy the weather and get in touch with nature.

Although it’s not ideal, you can fit in yoga by multitasking. Have you ever come back from work and just felt like vegging out in front of the TV? Well, instead of slumping into an unintentional reclining Lord Vishnu pose on the couch, roll out your mat and get your yoga on while watching TV or during the ad break.

In yoga your mind should be present, so this isn’t the most ideal way to practise but it’s a start and will allow you to achieve the physical benefits.

Find your way: If you make yoga into something you really enjoy, you’ll find yourself making more time for it. Try practising with a friend, exercising to your favourite music, practising asanas that feel good and relieve that pain in your back or postures that challenge you. Once you get in the habit of doing yoga on a regular basis, combined with an at home routine, it’s almost inevitable that you will find yourself more involved in improving your practice and perhaps even interested in the deeper sides of yoga.