Yoga is not just getting on the mat and practicing asanas and pranayama every day or closing your eyes and meditating.
Yoga is not limited to your mat, in fact, yoga is how you practice life off the mat.
Integrating yoga into your lifestyle has the potential to change the way you live your daily life, because it helps you be present, find inspiration and focus on gratitude and positivity.
In this post I would like to give you some simple tips to help you bring yoga into your everyday life.
8 useful tips for integrating yoga into everyday life
1. Create a morning routine
Wake up early and in the first minutes of the day don’t reach for the phone, carry out your actions with calm and awareness, during the morning the world is calmer, don’t look for shortcuts but accept this quiet.
A healthy morning routine contributes to the balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, leaving you feeling focused and energetic for the rest of the day.
2. Take time to breathe consciously
We are used to performing most of our daily gestures mechanically, without having real awareness of what we are doing.
Switch off autopilot and breathe, enjoy the sensation and power of an entire breathing cycle, the pleasure of walking while feeling the movement of your feet. Carefully follow the process of your movements, the taste and texture of the food you chew.
Start making every gesture with awareness.
3. Live in the present moment
Live the present, because it is the only thing we have that really exists.
Concentrate on the people in front of you and the surrounding environment, the color of the sky, the smell of the wind, the noises.
Create a true connection with everything around you, without judgment and without wasting your energy focusing on the past or worrying about the future.
Stay in the present, the mind will follow that energy, taking attention away from what is counterproductive.
4. Create space
When your days are too full and you feel like your mind is crowded with numerous thoughts, projects, expectations… create space.
Slow down your pace, simplify your thoughts, postpone commitments if possible. Stop for a few minutes and try to do absolutely nothing in this small period of time.
Put your cell phone aside, don’t look at social media, don’t listen to music, don’t send emails, simply listen to your thoughts and observe yourself for a few minutes.
5. Make gestures of kindness or help towards others
We have no idea what the people around us are going through, so let’s be kind. Smile and thank the people you interact with throughout the day, give way on the bus or subway, pay for a coffee at the bar for someone.
Every kind gesture you make will have a positive impact on other people.
6. Apply the principle of non-violence
The principle of Ahimsa. This term means non-violence towards people, animals, things, the environment and above all towards oneself: it means not harming anything or anyone, respecting life in all its manifestations and being in connection with it in all its aspects. expressions. It must be applied not only in actions, but also in thoughts and nutrition.
Cultivate empathy and compassion, always try to identify with the other, you will discover that we are not distinct beings, but that we are all part of one thing.
If you want to delve deeper into this topic, I wrote an article that you can read by clicking here.
7. Journaling
Write regularly in a notebook, whether it’s one sentence, one page or five pages, it doesn’t matter, write down your life and your thoughts giving space to the subconscious. Train yourself to observe your life, day after day you will discover that you have a lot to teach yourself and that you can learn a lot from yourself.
8. Practice gratitude
Giving thanks for the little things makes them infinitely precious. Take a moment during your day where you can stop and think about all the things you feel grateful for.
Focusing on positivity allows us to recognize it more easily in daily life and helps us not to take for granted the good things we have or that happen to us.
These tips are all ways to integrate yoga and mindfulness into your daily life. You don’t have to apply them all at once, start gradually by applying one or two tips at a time and trying to integrate them into your daily habits, this way you will make the process more natural and less complicated, thus encouraging you to continue.
What do you do to bring yoga into your everyday life? Are you trying to apply some of the advice I wrote in this article?
Let me know in the comments!