5 Ways to Live Yoga Off the Mat
In today’s world, it’s so easy to get caught up in our hectic lives always running from here to there, planning for the next hour or day, and giving little thought to the moment. I can’t tell you how many times I see yogini’s rushing frantically into class only to rush out just as quickly. I always chuckle to myself thinking, ‘we rush to yoga and rush to leave it’. Isn’t that an oxymoron? We don’t mean to! That’s just how our lives are set up. We have a ton going on and very little time to do it. But your power hour of centering yoga doesn’t have to end in the studio. Here’s five simple ways to bring yoga into your daily life, living yoga off the mat.
Practice gratitude.
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The moment your eyes flutter open in the morning, bring your hands in Pranamasana (prayer hands in front of your heart) and give a prayer of gratitude for anything! Whatever comes to mind (your breath, your family, the fact that you woke up). Just sincerely and soulfully give recognition and gratitude for your blessings and try to touch in with that heart space throughout your day.
Be observant.
Everything! Become the observer, the witness. As you go throughout your day, when you find yourself being reactive and emotional, take a step back, inhale, and witness. Ask yourself what am I reacting to? How can I respond to this as opposed to reacting to it? This is an incredibly powerful shift!
Breathe!
Yes, I said breathe. In a previous post I wrote how many of us take our breath for granted. We breathe short shallow breaths, which over time, leads to anxiety, stress, even pulmonary weakness. As often as you can throughout the day (set a timer on your phone if you need to) pause for 60 seconds, yes you can spare 60 seconds, and witness your breath. Close your eyes, place one hand on the center of your belly and take equal inhalation and exhalations breathing slow soulful yogi breaths in your belly. Do this regularly and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your stress level plummets!
Be mindful of your intention.
Be aware of your intention behind every thought, every word, and every action. What are you hoping to cultivate from each action? That is your intention. Be mindful that you’re making decisions with the purest of intentions. Everything we think, say, and do comes from one of two places: fear or love. Make sure your intentions come from a place of love. This ensures love and good vibes not only for yourself but for those around you. Win-win!
Be of service.
This can be to yourself one day and a stranger the next. Allow your intuition to guide you. But each day be of service to someone. Weave kindness and compassion into your daily life, whether it’s being kind to yourself by resting when you need it, bringing a neighbor’s trash can in, or donating your time. The choices are endless but make it a goal, in some way, to be of service to someone daily.
There you have it! Five beautiful and simple ways to live yoga and continue feeling those good vibrations from your practice on the mat off the mat!
How do you take your practice off the mat? Share with me in the comments below!
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5 Comments
Federica Cusumano
October 16, 2017 at 4:27 amThanks for this nice article!.
Sometimes it takes just such a simple habit, such as to stop our mind for 60 seconds, breath and try to feel the present and other ones that you have mentioned in your post; to literally switch to the better our life and make the planet Earth the right place to be.
I personally have to learn more on how to nurture myself and listen to what my body is try to tell me such as ” Take a rest today, don’t be to hard on yourself” or ”Come on!. Even if you are comfortable on your couch, you still have lot of good energy inside of you that need to be exhaled. Go out for a walk or a run and shine” And the list can go on…
However, I acknowledged that, even if sometimes it’s our ego to guide our actions, our body will speak out loud what we need to do eventually. And that’s really the magical thing about us human 🙂
Joy
October 16, 2017 at 10:58 amYou’re not alone, giving ourselves permission to rest and renew can be SO difficult! Thank you for sharing your experience with us! 🙂
Amanda Sides
October 18, 2017 at 2:59 pmYoga is always with us! And many people practice without even realizing it. 🙂
Christine savage
December 7, 2017 at 2:31 amI absolutely love this!
What Is Yoga off the Mat? 7 Ways to Practice Yoga off the Mat – Sita’s Yoga
November 27, 2020 at 7:59 am[…] Start your day with gratitude, and you’ll see a change in how you approach daily stressors. After you set your intention for the day, when you wake up, send up a silent prayer for something that you’re grateful for. It can be anything (such as the dream you had the night before or the air in your lungs), and it only takes a moment to do so. […]