| Practicing yoga in the family room can be challenging. | | | | needles under her fingernails. A funny sight to see but |
| Finding the time, creating the atmosphere, fending off | | | | here's the point: I stayed true to my practice, did my |
| excuses...and fitting in the Christmas tree. Just because | | | | yoga, remained committed to the sequence, and had a |
| your Christmas tree is still up, doesn't mean you | | | | wonderful belly laugh to lighten the mood for the rest |
| shouldn't practice yoga. Be persistent...stay motivated! | | | | of the day and every Christmas since. |
| I've been doing yoga for almost a decade. Some | | | | I attempt to do my yoga every morning for a 20 |
| years I have been more consistent and committed | | | | minute sequence. If I strive for 7 days a week and |
| than others. One year I had a 365 day one-page | | | | only achieve 5, I am much better off than if I only |
| calendar hanging on the wall of my office. I marked the | | | | practiced my yoga once or none that week! Yoga has |
| dates with an X every day that I did my yoga. It made | | | | helped me through many stressful situations. My family |
| me realize when there was consistency to my | | | | even recognizes a positive difference in my attitude, |
| practice and when I had fallen off the mat. | | | | my walk, my energy level, and my happiness when I |
| One day in January a couple of years ago I walked | | | | am committed to my yoga practice. |
| into my family room mumbling to myself that I needed | | | | Persistence, consistency, and commitment. Even if you |
| to find the time to take down our Christmas tree and | | | | don't feel well, have a to-do list a mile long, or still have |
| even contemplated substituting that for doing my yoga. | | | | to take down the Christmas tree, you need to fit in |
| As much as my inner voice pleaded to remove the | | | | your yoga practice whenever possible. |
| decorations, my body won out and I did my yoga. | | | | Which is more important - your health and well-being |
| The epiphany came after I had positioned myself and | | | | or taking down the Christmas tree? |
| started my sun salutation warm-up exercises flowing | | | | If one of your New Year's resolutions is to get healthy, |
| from a standing pose to a forward stretch and did a | | | | then consider yoga. Starting a yoga practice at the |
| swan dive into my Christmas tree which was in the | | | | beginning of a new year is an excellent strategy since |
| way of my moving right hand. The branches stretched | | | | the coming of a new year brings out renewal and |
| to the ground and bounced back to position; the | | | | rejuvenation of the mind, body and spirit. |
| ornaments held on for dear life; and the yogi had pine | | | | |