Tips for setting up a yoga routine

We all know that if we want to see the mental or physical benefits of yoga, we won’t get them by only doing a class every once in a while. We should set aside regular time and space to be there, fully there, for our practice.

But…

Life is busy and things pop up to steal away our attention.

This post isn’t about making anyone feel guilty for putting other things before their yoga practice – we all do it, and sometimes it does feel really hard to justify putting yourself first. But, we need to! Yoga is so good for the mind and body, and we need to find time for ourselves in our ever-busy calendars.

Here are a couple of my tips for how you can make time for your yoga.

Find what works for you

What is the best time for you?

I have experimented with practising at different times in the day and found what works for me. I’ve tried to get up and out of bed at 5.00am, but it was just too early for me and it was too easy for my brain to convince me that being in bed is good, being out of bed is bad. Instead, I’ve found that if get up at 7.00am, stick the kettle on, and then do some gentle movement for 20 minutes to wake up my body with some pranayama (while my cup of tea is cooling), this works better for me then trying to do a full practice first thing in the morning. In the evening, after work, is when I do my main asana practice. Sometimes this is at home, but mostly I like to go to a studio class. I have found that having a practice later in the day works so much better for me and accepting that I am not an early morning yoga person has actually been a bit of a relief (more on that later)!

Where are you going to practice?

If you’re practising at home try to find a space that is away from other distractions and has a calming atmosphere. Somewhere comfortable and where you feel at ease: you won’t be able to give the practise your full attention if you’re worried about being disturbed. If there are other people in your home, tell them this your time to practise and be firm! You’ve got this.

If being at home isn’t an option, try going to a local studio or gym and book a class. I know it can be a bit daunting the first time, but I love the energy and sense of community you get with a studio class. I’m also very grateful to live close to some fantastic teachers who inspire me, challenge me, and guide me. There’s a class to suit everyone and it might take some effort initially to find it, but it is worth it; there are some great teachers out there who can help you to deepen your understanding of yourself and yoga.

Booking yourself into a class is also a great mental prompt – you’re booked in and you’ve probably had to pay to secure your spot. So, when 4.50pm rolls around and you start to consider going straight home rather than to that 6.00pm class you booked last week, just know that you have made a commitment to yourself (and to your teacher), and you should uphold it.

How much time do you have?

Be realistic about the time that you have available. Don’t try to force in an hour long practise every morning before work if you don’t have the time – you’ll only end up annoyed at yourself for not doing it, or not getting the full benefit. Remember, it’s meant to feel good not rushed! Doing 5 minutes of pranayama is just as powerful as doing 75 minutes of the Ashtanga primary sequence. Listen to what your body needs at that moment and honour that.

Yoga is not just the physical postures

Yoga is made up of the ‘Eight Limbs’ and Asana, or the practise of postures, is only one part of ‘yoga’ (which means to yoke, or connect), and each limb is equally as important. They include:

Yama – restraints, moral disciplines, or moral vows
Niyama – positive duties or observances
Asana – postures
Pranayama – breathing
Pratyahara – sense withdrawal
Dharana – concentration
Dhyana – meditiation
Samahdi – bliss or enlightenment

Sitting still in meditation is yoga, concentrating on your breath is yoga, practising the yamas in your daily life is yoga, and holding tree pose is yoga. You can do it anywhere and anytime – yoga is always there for you.

Make things as easy as possible for yourself

I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I wish I could float to my mat each day but I can be very easily distracted by external influences. If I’m not careful I can find that that thirty minutes I put aside for yoga has been swallowed up by watching reels and posts. Very guilty. So, make things as easy as possible for yourself. Whether you’re getting up early to go to class, or making the effort to do it when you get home after work, set it up so that you don’t have an excuse to avoid it: make it so that it’s harder to say no, than it is to just get into that downward facing dog. Remember, you’ll feel so good after!

Try having your mat out and ready so you can literally roll straight out of bed and onto it in the morning. Or pack your bag the night before so you and your favourite yoga pants are ready to go straight after work. Put a block in your calendar so nothing else can be booked in.

Comparison is the thief of joy

Finally, this is your routine for you. Yoga is such a personal thing and what works for some people doesn’t work for others. I used to lie in bed at 5.00am guiltily looking at Instagram and see other yogis on their mats saying how great it was to be up early – and I’m sure for them it was! Everyone has their own preference. Unlike me, you might have children or family members that need attention first thing in the morning, so you have to be up early to practise, or you might have to wait until everyone has gone to bed to find your perfect time. You might love those 5.00ams and be wondering what on earth I’m talking about wanting to stay in bed. We all have our preferences and things that work for us. Our routine is one of them. Enjoy it, do it, own it. You don’t have to answer to anyone.

Self-discipline

Finally, exercising self-discipline and acceptance. Practise makes perfect, and while perfection isn’t what we strive for in yoga, showing up for ourselves again and again is.

Find the time, put the phone down or turn the TV off. Unroll your mat or even just grab a cushion and sit down. Accept that there are some days when a pose will feel easy and some days when it won’t, there will be some days when your balance is perfect and some days when it definitely won’t be. Accept that there are some days when the last place you want to be is sat in meditation… but that is probably the day you need it the most. Forgive yourself on the days of not wanting to do it and then do it anyway, and celebrate yourself on the days that you do. You know that you will never regret a yoga practice.

The Wisdom of Water: morning retreat at Harewood Holistics

Ever been to a yoga class followed by a tea ceremony next to a lake? Ever shut your eyes and listened to the buzz and hums of nature, the nearby water stirring, and the sound of tea being poured?

Harewood Holistics’ morning retreat ‘The Wisdom of Water’ offered just that. This post is a about the retreat and my thoughts on whether a morning is enough.

Retreat: The Wisdom of Water

Location: Harewood Holistics (The Arch Barn, Harewood House Estate)

Duration: 10.00am – 1.00pm

Cost: £45 (price included 1 hour of yoga, a tea ceremony and refreshments)

Teacher: Ella @wellnesswins

To get there we travelled past the estate (including fields full of deer), through woods and over bridges, the shadows from the trees playing with patches of sunlight on the road. By the time we arrived, we already felt as though we had escaped the world to a little patch of serenity.

Ella, our teacher for the morning, was there to greet us and show us to the studio for an hour of yoga. It was a gentle vinyasa class and, as the theme of the morning was ‘the wisdom of water’, the postures and movements were chosen to encourage us to connect to the water within and around us. It was a slow and thoughtful flow, our spines rippling through half sun salutations and cat/cow movements, to stand strong in our Tadasana and Virabhadrasana II poses. To finish, we relaxed into a restorative child’s pose with blocks and bolsters as support, giving space to connect to the water within.

I love yoga for its ability to help me switch off my brain to the mindless, endless chatter that goes on in there. When I’m on the mat, it goes silent. Ella’s teaching style was also so gentle and intuitive that I felt deeply connected to the practice.

The studio was so beautiful and calming. The beams above us had been lit up with blue light and the mats arranged in a semi-circle around the centre where a sacred shine made up of branches, flowers, crystals and lit candles, had been created. At the top of each mat, a crystal and box of incense had been placed for us to take home, which was such a thoughtful touch.

Following the class, we were invited to stay silent as we walked from the Arch Barn to the lake in another part of the estate. The walk was longer than I expected (with a little hill) and if I had any comment on the day it would be that I would have liked more time to do the walk, as we were encouraged to look at what was around us, noticing textures and sounds. But I appreciate that it was only a half-day retreat.

We crossed a bridge over a little stream and past a few fields including one full of black sheep. The sun was shining and there was so much noise around us, from the sheep to the breeze in the leaves, to the sounds of other visitors enjoying the estate. When we got to the lake, we sat in the grass (on the mats provided), for a Rasa tea ceremony: it was such a beautiful morning for it.

Still in silence, we were invited to close our eyes to allow our other senses to enhance. There was so much to hear: the birds, the lake, and the grasshoppers that were in the grass all around us. Ella read to us from The Radiance Sutras (by Lorin Roche) about the importance and effect of ceremony and how it makes the mundane sacred. She then asked us to listen to the sound of the tea being poured into the cup.

Tasting dark chocolate,

A ripe apricot,

A luscious elixir –

Savor the expanding joy in your body.

Nature is offering herself to you.

How astonishing

To realize the world can taste so good.
The Radiance Sutras (49)

The tea was chocolate goji rose, and she spoke of why she had chosen this tea and the significance of the ingredients. She asked us to open our eyes and look at the cup she had placed on the grass in front of each of us. When I looked, I saw that a grasshopper had landed on the rim of mine; I watched it sit there for a moment before it hopped off. Then I saw the shadows on the surface of the tea, the colour of the liquid, the green of the grass and the earth around it.

We picked up our cups to hold them and feel the sensations from the warmth. Ella then invited us to lift them to the chest in front of the heart so we could feel the warmth there. We then brought the cup to the chin and then to the nose to have our first smells of the tea. Every part of the ceremony was done so slowly, leaving time to feel, to notice and to acknowledge. From arrival at the lake to the first sip, Ella created such a sensory journey.

For me, the first sip tasted so strongly of dark chocolate and then came the sweetness. I thought back to the sutra Ella had read to us and how this was such a special celebration of the tastes and wonders that the world has to offer.

We were given a few more moments in silence with our teas before the cake was cut and passed around along with the chance to chat and share. A quick note about the cake: it was a slice of lemon drizzle (yum), and a lemon muffin, so it was a very good morning for those of us with a sweet-tooth.

It was such an all-round gorgeous morning and it made me think that sometimes retreats are sold to us as needing to be a week or so break away in a far off land in order for us to properly relax. I’ll note here that I haven’t been on a yoga retreat abroad (yet!), so maybe I just don’t know what I’m missing. However, I thought on that Sunday morning by the lake, that we don’t have to go far from home to ‘escape’ and find relaxation, and that it can just be for a morning and you will leave feeling refreshed. It also doesn’t have to cost the earth, and you don’t have to do anything in the hours or days leading up to it so you can feel as though you have ‘earned’ it. You can just go down the road, into the fields, and find somewhere that you can sit in the silence and listen to what’s going on within.

I will be keeping an eye out for future retreats at Harewood Holistics as I enjoyed this morning so much.

What is a yoga brunch event like?

With so many yoga events popping up all over the country (and all over Instagram), I’ve often wondered if they are they worth it? Is it about the yoga, or is it more about the ‘experience’ leaving the yoga part to be neglected or over-looked?

I went to a Yoga Brunch event on Saturday held at Left Bank Leeds, it was an hour of yoga followed by a vegan two-course brunch and… I have to say, I loved it.

The class was an energetic vinyasa flow that started with a gentle warm-up and then moved on to some hamstring-focused poses. It was taught by a favourite teacher of mine, called Bryony (which is how I heard about the event), who is excellent at providing an all-levels class that can be gentle as well as challenging depending on the student.

But, the special part was the chance to eat, talk and relax with people afterwards. And, the food (by Mol’s Café) was so good!

The event was held at Left Bank Leeds which is an old church that has been re-purposed into a gorgeous and fun space for the community. When we arrived, the room smelt of incense and the light was softly coming through the stained-glass window at the front of the space. They had also strung some fairy lights and paper lanterns across the area where the yoga mats were laid out, and so when we were lying down it was so pretty to look up to the lights and then on to the old church ceiling with the wooden rafters above. As the class went on, the smell of incense was replaced by the smells of cooking which added a lot of excitement for what was to come.

The brunch was delicious. We started with courgette fritters served with butterbeans and crushed tomato, which were super garlicy and yummy, with a dollop of yoghurt, and a portion of salad greens, basil and toasted seeds. This was then followed by a very generous piece of apple and almond cake with chunks of raspberry, and a cup of herbal tea.

We sat on benches around a long table, with jam jars containing flowers picked from Bryony’s garden decorating the centre (which I’m upset I didn’t take any pics of because they were so pretty). Everyone was so friendly and happy to be there, it was such a positive, well, experience! It demonstrated the power of yoga to bring people together and build connection and community. I will definitely be going again if it is offered.

Yoga teacher: Bryony May Yoga

Food: Mol’s Café

Location: Left Bank Leeds

What’s the difference between Restorative and Yin Yoga?

Restorative and Yin yoga both involve holding poses for a length of time, with the help of props, to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (promoting rest and digest). But there are some differences between the two.

Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga poses, if done correctly, should feel like you are doing nothing at all. By using props such as blankets, bolsters or bricks, the joints of the body are held comfortably and feel completely supported. From there you can encourage your mind and body relax into the pose. For example, in a recent class I went to, we started by folding up a blanket, lying one end of it over a brick placed at the top of the mat, and then lying down with the head on the part of the blanket over the brick. The blanket then supported the spine, coming to just above the coccyx, so that the bum was off the blanket and on the mat. Then, covered by another blanket and a bolster placed under the knees, the teacher encouraged us to take a scan of the body and start letting go of any tension.

Before my first restorative class I remember being nervous that I might miss the instructions for how to set up the props and then try to relax into something uncomfortable. However, I really needn’t have worried: a good teacher will give the instructions slowly and clearly, and there is plenty of time within the pose to adjust if something doesn’t feel quite right for you. One of the great things about Restorative (and Yin) yoga is that each student is in complete control and can make the poses their own.

If you’re at home and don’t have any these specific props, all you need is a bit of wall space, some chunky books, a chair or even a towel or some pillows. Just get comfy and allow yourself to R E L A X. You can hold a restorative pose for anywhere from 5 to 10 to 30 to 40 minutes… It’s all about listening to what feels good in your body.

Some of the benefits of Restorative yoga include increased blood circulation, reducing stress and promoting good quality sleep.

Yin Yoga

Similar to Restorative, Yin gives you time to be calm and settle into the body to become more aware of what is going on within.

In a Yin pose, we apply gentle stretch to the muscles (this is sometimes referred to as finding the “edge”) and you should feel the stretch but not any pain. Then by holding the pose for a few minutes and connecting with the breath, the tissues may start to soften.

An example of a Yin pose could be sitting with the legs wide on either side of a bolster, folding forwards from the hips and bringing the head to rest on a brick placed on the bolster. This would help stretch the hips and inside of the thighs. It would also focus on the liver meridian. In Yin, the poses work with energy channels in the body known as meridians. A teacher can choose a particular channel (like the liver or the stomach) and plan the class around that area.

Yin is helpful for increasing flexibility as well as clearing stagnant energy in the body.

I think both Yin and Restorative yoga have a reputation for being ‘easy’. They don’t have the dynamic flow of Vinyasa or the non-stop jumps of Ashtanga, but they do have their own challenges. You have to be comfortable to find the stillness of the pose and be alone with your thoughts. Sometimes I have classes where I find I can empty my mind and soften into each pose easily; and there are some days where I really struggle to turn off the internal stream of mental chatter. I can be physically still but mentally? That’s a whole other ball game.

But, as with anything, it is about practise and learning what works for you and what doesn’t, and being accepting of the times when it doesn’t work.

For me, Restorative and Yin classes are part of my yoga practise as a whole and not just isolated classes to help me relax. The things I learn when holding poses for a longer period of time also helps me progress and get more out of my Vinyasa and Ashtanga classes. For example, my understanding of the connection between the body and the breath is deeper after Yin and Restorative; and also being in control of the pose – if something is painful or restrictive, then I can adapt the pose so it suits my body. Iyengar students see restorative classes as a fundamental part of their yoga and I agree – plus it is always good to give yourself time and permission to relax and restore.