How to Develop a Consistent Yoga Practice

Let’s get real for a minute.

You’ve decided you want to start doing yoga at home (or maybe even at your local yoga studio), so you throw on your favorite leggings, grab your yoga mat and water bottle, and search for your favorite Wild Yogi Studio class.

You are ALL IN, baby.

This practice is the one that’s going to kickstart your new yoga habit: You’re going to practice every day or x times per week, and you’re going to feel so good and everything is just feeling awesome; your motivation is at an all time high, and you’re doin the damn thing. *cue applause*

You know this feeling, right?

It lasts for a few days - maybe even a week or two - and then…something comes up. You miss a day, and it’s no big deal because you’re going to hit the mat tomorrow for sure. But then, the next day you’re feeling a little tired, and - well, what’s one rest day going to hurt?

The next thing you know, it’s been a month and your yoga mat is collecting cobwebs in the corner. So what gives?

Here’s the deal: your brain is wired to keep you safe, right? Right.

Safety = comfort zone.

So even though doing yoga is good for you, and even though you’re so motivated to practice - your brain still perceives any change in habit as a threat to your safety. This is why it’s so damn hard to build consistency & create new habits.

It’s not because you’re lazy or not motivated enough; it’s because your brain is a creature of comfort - and adding something new into your routine, no matter how good it is for you, still makes it uncomfortable (and even though you logically know it’s safe - it still needs some convincing).

So how can you create a consistent yoga practice when your brain is determined to prevent you from doing so?

It’s not impossible, I promise; but it does require intention.

Here’s a list of actionable tips to help you form a new habit that your brain will enjoy…eventually:

• Set an intention: New research shows that it's not enough to say you're going to do something by relying on motivation alone (it’s pretty unreliable anyway, right?); you want to place intention behind it. Aka, why is this important to you? What do you hope to gain? How will this habit help you? What’s your reason for doing the thing?

  Ex: “I want to do yoga” vs" “Adding yoga to my routine will help me feel more at ease throughout the day, more energized to hang out with my kids, provide relief for my sore low back, and give me time to breathe and let myself be.”

  Which do you think is more impactful?

• Attach your new habit to a current habit: It's not enough to say you're going to do something - chances are, it'll work for a few days and then the motivation will waiver (which, remember, isn’t the driving factor behind consistent change). The key here is to add your new yoga habit to a preexisting habit.

  Ex: "After my morning coffee (current habit), I will roll out my mat and practice for 10 minutes (new habit)." This way, you're adding on to something you’re already used to doing, rather than creating something new from scratch - so it’s less likely to make that lizard brain feel unsafe.
  

• Make it fit your schedule: Sometimes, we think that in order to build a consistent yoga practice we have to show up for classes every day for 60 minutes and sweat it out - but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

  In reality, this all-or-nothing mindset can keep us from consistency. Rather than force yourself into a corner, take a look at your planner for the week and notice where you have a gap. Can you fit in a 10 minute meditation on Tuesday morning before you go to work? How about a 30 minute lunchtime refresh vinyasa class on Thursday? Or, maybe you’ve noticed that your energy is low on Fridays when you get home from work, so you want plan a weekly restorative class. You get the idea.

  Make yoga work for your schedule and your energy, and do what feels good. And if you’re not sure what you’re in the mood for, Wild Yogi Studio has a wide range of classes that fit every mood and time frame, so you can plan for the classes that best fit your schedule in advance!
  

• Take small, actionable steps: set small goals for yourself at first, and gradually build. Your brain panics when faced with big changes (you know that feeling you get when you’re about to go on stage? Your brain feels the same way when you change up your routine), so start small and allow time to adapt before increasing frequency and/or load.

  Ex: Start with yoga 2x per week and increase to 3x per week, and so on, over time. Not sure what classes work best for you as you’re building your new yoga habit? Check out Wild Yogi Studio to take the guesswork out of your yoga practice.
  

• Plan for obstacles: If you have a contingency plan, you're less likely to let it slide when you miss a practice.

  Ex: If you typically practice in the morning after you drink your coffee, but happen wake up late, set a reminder in your phone to practice after work instead - and lay your mat out so you walk right into it when you get home (…don’t literally walk into your mat - you know what I mean).
  

• Accountability: sticking to your new yoga habit can be challenging, but accountability keep us…well…accountable.

  Ex: When starting, ask a friend to join you and check in with each other, or state your intention to those in your household, etc. Support from your community goes a long way.

  If you’re not sure who to ask, I’ve got a free Facebook community filled with women ready to support you - join us and make some new friends!
  

• Record your progress: Seeing how far you've come can be an excellent motivator, so find a fun way to keep tabs on how much you’ve accomplished (this is also physical proof that your brain needs to keep going - a “see, this is good for us” visual aid, if you will).

  Ex: I have an Amazon Halo watch that I love to use. Each week, I’m supposed to get 150+ points - and as a naturally competitive person, I’m all about getting those points, and then some. Maybe for you it’s a different app, writing things down in your planner, or putting a gold star on the calendar. Whatever it is, find what makes sense for you and roll with it.
  

• Make it fun: Reward yourself when you hit a milestone. Keeping things fun will be the proverbial air under your proverbial wings. I won’t give you an example here - I have faith you know how to have fun.

At the end of the day, building up to a consistent yoga practice takes - you guessed it - intention. But with the right support, the right classes, and a good plan, you’ll find yourself on your mat more often in no time at all.