Establishing a daily yoga habit - again!

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bonnieUK
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Establishing a daily yoga habit - again!

Post by bonnieUK » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:31 pm

Hi!

Just thought I'd share what I'm up to re: exercise at the moment, which is something that has gone by the wayside for me lately! I thought posting here would help me clarify my goals and help me stick to them (plus some public accountability never fails!).

I've being doing yoga for about 10 years, and while I'm intermediate / advanced on some things, there are still many things I've never progressed past beginner stage on. This is probably because I've never established a regular schedule and have been rather sporadic in my practice. I fell out of a daily yoga practice a few months ago due to a combi of overdoing it, having too high expecations and getting bored with the same routine.

I've now decided to re-implement a daily yoga practice, but to limit myself to 15-20 minutes every morning, and to have a range of default activities to choose from so I don't really have an excuse to not move myself, for example:

My #1 aim is to get on my yoga mat each morning and do a simple 15 minute routine (or 15 mins from one of my many DVDs) followed by some meditation (no time limit here, just whatever feels right - this tends to naturally be about 5 mins).

If I get to my yoga mat and really can't face starting those sun salutations, I'll go out for a 15 min walk instead (what better way to "salute the sun" than to go walking at dawn!).

If I am so lazy that I don't want to do yoga or go walking (if it's snowing or something LOL), then I'll do 15 mins on my stepper (something I can do and read a good book at the same time which is an additional motivator LOL).

The idea is, that I'll establish a habit of moving myself for 15 minutes every morning in some way, and only when that is established I'll think about actually making progress with my yoga practice (trying more advanced stuff, spending more time on it etc.). I don't want to make the mistake I made before which was try to establish a daily yoga habit, and do it perfectly and do lots of advanced stuff all at once LOL

I'm aiming to just do this on N days and keep weekends open - some weekends I might feel like starting the day in the same way, but if I don't "have to" then I won't feel bad if I skip it! Often at weekends I get in some other exercise anyway.

I started this new plan today, I did the first 15 mins of one of my fave yoga DVDs (one of Baron Baptiste's Live series, I find these the closest you can get to going to a class, without actually going to a class) followed by some meditation. I did feel like I could do more, but I stopped myself because now I can look forward to doing more of the DVD tomorrow.

A little thing that helped ensure I did this was that last night I put my yoga clothes in the bathroom ready for me to get into after my morning shower - this meant that when I got out of the shower I had no excuses! (I also had my work outfit picked out the night before so I didn't have to cut short my yoga time to figure out what to change into).

The only thing I had to do after the yoga was eat, drink tea, quick-tidy my kitchen, brush teeth, dress for work and put make-up on - all easy auto-pilot stuff which I can do in 20 mins.

I've realised that its not having to do things in the morning which takes time, it's having to make decisions about doing things, so having the clothes all ready helped, I also had the DVD selected the night before, my yoga mat out etc. I also made sure my chores were done the night before, kitchen tidy etc. so I had minimal domestic stuff to do in the morning (just tidying up after myself and folding some laundry) as another common excuse I use not to exercise is that I have "more important" things to do like chores.

All this is made even easier by the fact that my other half wakes much later than me (he is a night owl, I'm an early bird :D), so I have the mornings all to myself with no distractions or interuptions :)

Wish me luck!

Thanks :)

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Post by kccc » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:19 pm

Bonnie,

Good luck! And I may join you!

I've been taking a yoga class - which I love - that is about to end. The next session starts sometime in mid-January. That means a whole month plus without my routine!

I've been considering a 15-minute practice, much as you describe. Sometimes yoga, sometimes Pilates. It's amazing how sore you can get with 15 minutes of serious Pilates if you haven't been doing it in a while! (Currently working around a sprained wrist, which limits some of the traditional poses like downward dog.)

I think you are VERY smart to take habit-building in stages. That's hard for me too. I have found that I tend to have reasonable expectations... if you only look at one of my goals. Alas, I usually try to tackle 10 at once, which of course is a recipe for failure across the board!

Thanks for the inspiration! And LOTS of luck!

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bonnieUK
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Post by bonnieUK » Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:21 pm

Thanks for the good wishes KCCC!

I'd recommend you try it too if you're class is about to end!

I had an exceptionally early morning today as I had to get my car in for repairs before work, but still managed to light my favourite candles and get on my yoga mat for just a few minutes (before dawn!) which I was determined to do at least to help establish the habit - and I'm sure I felt some benefits from a shortened practice (better than nothing!).

I'm thinking of adding pilates into the mix occasionally too, I have a good 30 minute DVD which I could easily do half of at a time.

If you want some ideas for a quick yoga session, here is a routine I recently typed up (so I can have something to follow if I'm not using a DVD) which I can do in about 15 minutes. I don't really bother with the proper sanskrit names because that just confuses me LOL

Preparation & warm up:

Mountain pose
Sun salutation series A (3-5 sets)

Standing postures:

Standing forward bend (holding big toe)
Triangle (both sides)
Reversed triangle (both sides)
Tree pose

Sitting postures & spinal twists:

One legged seated forward bend (both sides)
Full seated forward bend
Sage pose
Sage twist

Backbends & Inversions:

Bow pose
Camel pose
Shoulder stand and / or headstand

Restorative:

Savasana (corpse pose)

Good luck with your yoga etc. too :)

p.s. take care of that wrist injury - I've had a wrist injury too (too many up & down dogs in the Summer gave me carpal tunnel syndrome!) I'm still not fully able to put weight on my wrists for very long and at the moment can't do upward dog most days (I usually do cobra instead) but it's improving at least :)

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Post by kccc » Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:52 pm

Thank you for the list! (Though I think you're a bit more advanced than I am, just from scanning it.)

Here's my Pilates list (below) that I can do in 15 minutes - usually with a little time left over at the end for "whatever stretches feel good to me today."

My last class is tomorrow. I've done 15 minutes on non-class days this week to get moving toward the general habit. Will check in with you next week on how it's going.

How odd about your wrist - I thought yoga helped protect against carpal tunnel? I actually felt that if I hadn't been doing yoga I'd have been in worse shape with my wrist. (Slipped going down a slope in slick shoes - say that fast six times - and caught myself with one hand behind me. No breaks or torn ligaments, but a sprain - that I think I aggravated in my next practice, where we did a lot of down-dog.)

Hundred
Roll up
Single leg circles
Rolling like a ball
Roll over
Single leg stretch (bent-leg)
Double leg stretch (bent-leg)
Single straight leg
Double straight leg
Criss-cross
Spine stretch forward
Neck rolls (facing down)
Single leg kick
Double leg kick
Swimming (and child's pose)
Neck pull
Saw
Open-leg rocker
Corkscrew
Teaser
Seal

(I'm skipping the side-leg series right now - next week intend to alternate the legs and stomach series.)

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Post by bonnieUK » Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:11 am

Hi KCCC!

Thanks for the Pilates routine! I think the hundred is probably the best abdominal exercise ever, perhaps with the exception of the abdominal exercises used in Callanetics (don't know if you know of that craze from the 80s, It was something I discovered as a student in 98 when I found a Callanetics video in a charity shop bargain bin LOL).

I've been prone to carpal tunnel for years. While yoga has helped strengthen my wrists, too many postures that involve putting weight on the hands with wrists flexed can aggravate them (in the summer I also tried some new advanced arm & hand balances which couldn’t have helped). I’m thinking it could be an error with my technique so next time I go to a class I’ll ask for some advice.

I hope your wrist gets better soon!

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Post by kccc » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:20 pm

Well, yoga class is over this week... I'm having to go "on my own."

Bonnie, I am SO glad that you posted when you did, and inspired me! :)

This morning, I made my 15 minutes... but was a little late to work (not a big deal, but still...). I'm going to have to think about ways to "shave off minutes" to free up 15 minutes in the mornings. Getting up earlier does not amuse me. I already have trouble getting to bed early enough, so before 6AM just doesn't sound like a good plan. I need sleep as much as exercise.

Your idea of choosing clothes the night before is a good one. I already set up coffee and breakfast in advance... perhaps doing dinner dishes a little earlier, so I can unload the dishwasher in the evening instead of the next morning... Hmm.

Fifteen minutes doesn't sound like much, but to me every minute counts double in the morning. Still, if I don't exercise then, it's harder to fit in. So, I'll continue tweaking the routine until it fits in!

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Post by NoelFigart » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:43 pm

KCCC wrote:Your idea of choosing clothes the night before is a good one. I already set up coffee and breakfast in advance... perhaps doing dinner dishes a little earlier, so I can unload the dishwasher in the evening instead of the next morning... Hmm.

Fifteen minutes doesn't sound like much, but to me every minute counts double in the morning. Still, if I don't exercise then, it's harder to fit in. So, I'll continue tweaking the routine until it fits in!
If I don't get my ass in the gym by 5:30 am, I often blow off exercise for the entire day, myself (big time morning person here. Please no-one make fun of me, I cannot help my affliction).

*grin* The pitiful part is that I am self-employed. I really do make my own hours. I could exercise as a break during the day if I wanted to. I never manage it, though. But if I get my butt to the gym, it sets a good, productive tone for the whole day, including my desire to eat healthily.

I still set up the coffee the night before, pack my gym bag and clothes the night before, and have everything set up and ready to go so I don't argue with myself or make excuses.

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Post by kccc » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:36 pm

I'm a morning person too, Noel. :) In an ideal world. I would always exercise first, then deal with my day.

But I also have to get a little boy out the door in time for school, which is a bit constraining. And I like to journal in the morning, so am juggling that as well. My routine used to be:

Get up, turn on coffee, write. (My personal quiet time, which I love)
Shower
Wake up husband and child
Dress while child dresses and dh is in the shower
Breakfast - dh joins us. Newspaper, some chores (laundry, dishwasher) while others are in kitchen, remind child to brush teeth, get book-bag and lunch, etc.
Carpool child to school. That eats 25 minutes or so (school is not far, but traffic, walking in, etc.) when it's my turn to drive, but is open time if I don't.
Come back, brush teeth and put in contacts, finish any chores I didn't get to before carpool, grab my own lunch out of the fridge, leave for work.

Writing takes about 30 minutes. Exercise takes only 15 minutes "actual time", but more "getting started" time. ;) This week I don't drive, so I'm exercising during writing time and writing during carpool time. That's going to take some getting used to - I miss writing first thing.

I did a lot ahead this morning (dishes/laundry), and had extra time before carpool but was a bit tight after.

Next week, when I drive, don't know how I'll manage.

One day at a time.

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Post by bonnieUK » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:55 am

Hi!

I too find that every minute seems to count double in the morning, time does just seem to fly doesn't it?

I'm currently working on optimising my routines and shaving off time here and there. Here's what I do:

Get up, drink juice, empty dishwasher, fold laundry (if any in drier)

Shower etc. dress in yoga clothes, quick clean bathroom

Go to living room, light candles, unfold mat, do 15 mins of yoga (sometimes with aid of a yoga DVD)

Eat breakfast, drink tea, take vitamins, tidy up kitchen

Prepare & pack my lunch (if not done the night before)

Dress in work clothes, brush teeth, do hair and make up (my make up routine literally takes 2 mins LOL)

Wake husband before leaving house (he works from home and is not a morning person LOL)

Rush to car to scrape ice off!

I've been late for work a few times since starting the morning yoga thing but not significantly and have made up at the end of the day. I think I just need to get up a little bit earlier and not linger in the shower too long!

I must confess I didn't do my yoga this morning because I woke up late *slaps wrist*, I did miss it and will definately do it tomorrow morning. I'm sure another factor in not doing it was that I forgot to get my clothes ready the night before! Yesterday was a bit of a lazy day, I didn't do my routines fully and spent too much time goofing around watching youtube videos :D Oh well, will do better today :)

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Post by bonnieUK » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:06 am

NoelFigart wrote:I still set up the coffee the night before, pack my gym bag and clothes the night before, and have everything set up and ready to go so I don't argue with myself or make excuses.
This is exactly what I discovered - if you take the decision making out of the mornings it's much easier to get things done without excuses. Another thought I had was to think of myself as different people, in the evening I think of what I could do to get my "morning self" off to a good start. and in the morning I think of things I could do so that my "evening self" can come home and unwind from work instead of having lots of chorse to do. Sounds a little weird I know but it's a good trick :)

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Post by kccc » Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:14 pm

Hm... had never thought about exercising after shower - somehow, in my mind, it needs to be "before." But maybe that's because I just exercise in my PJs - another time-saving trick, lol!

(In fact, I bought the shorts/tanks I wear as PJs in the "real clothes" section, after noticing how soft cotton shorts sets and soft cotton pajamas looked awfully alike... that way, I don't mind going to get the paper in them, etc., because they were designed to be worn in public! And on summer weekends, I just put on a bra and shoes and run in them, and then throw them in the wash.)

Got through everything okay today. Have realized that a "stopper" is having to hang out in the kitchen when our carpool is due, so that I can see out the window. Otherwise, I could put in my contacts, etc., and save a little "post-carpool" time. Will think on that. I'd delegate to my husband, but he is NOT a morning person and tends to drift off in a fog, lol! (We have an informal arrangement where I do most of getting our son ready for school, and he does most of getting him ready for bed. We play to our strengths!)

Tweaking the schedule is becoming a challenge, though. Everytime I figure out a new "trick," I feel a sense of accomplishment!

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Post by kccc » Sat Dec 22, 2007 3:56 pm

Bonnie, I am so grateful that you posted this intent. It has really helped me.

And I made it through the last weeks of work. Now at home, so the 15 minutes will be easier.

Thanks again!!!

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Post by bonnieUK » Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:15 pm

Hi KCCC if you are still checking in on this thread!

Just wondering how things are going for you?

On resuming from a lazy Christmas break, I switched to daily walks instead of daiy yoga as I was finding that I was getting bored with the yoga again and having more wrist problems.

I think my sense of boredom with yoga actually comes about by having wrist problems and having to modify - my favourite thing was always a set of vigourous sun salutations but as I'm still not able to put much weight through my wrists, I'm having to skip most of them.

(Interestingly I recently read "Tibetan Heart Yoga" and the writer suggested that an injury from yoga practice arises from an incorrect mindset, so I guess I'll have to analyse that a bit - I think my problem is that I get a bit too goal oriented and impatient to see results).

Anyway - I've rambled a bit :)

My new thing is to do the 15 mins of daily exercise after work with my husband (he has promised to join me and I'll accept no excuses! :D) half the dining room has been hijacked and turned into a makeshift gym room (thanks to one of my FLYlady de-clutter projects). My husband is already using it to beat up his new boxing toy and I said I'd do some rebounding or a session on the stepper at the same time, either that or we'll go out for a walk in the woods (something we're not so keen on doing most days just yet it is pitch black out there in the evenings and we keep stepping on snails LOL).

It should be an interesting experiment, as historically I've always found it difficult to stick to an after work exercise schedule because of other things getting in the way, but that was when I was doing it by myself. With 2 of us commited to doing it, things should be easier! I'll keep you posted :)

As for the yoga, I plan on just doing that once a week or maybe even less for a while as I need to give my wrists a chance to heal properly. I'd like to one day be able to do the vigourous sun salutations again!

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Post by kccc » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:24 pm

Hi Bonnie!

Good for you for sticking to your resolve.

Thanks to your inspiration (and I mean that VERY sincerely!), I have been doing my "15 minutes" for a good while - even on days like today, when I'm back at work and it's my turn to carpool. I've had to flex some on my writing time, but it's all getting done.

And it's so funny... I can almost HEAR this little conversation in my head some mornings....

Whiny little kid voice: I don't want to exercise this morning. I'll do it later.
Voice of reason: It's FIFTEEN MINUTES, for crying out loud. Just do it. You'll be done. Besides, what ELSE are you doing to do while you're waiting on the coffee? Sheesh.

So I do it, and enjoy my coffee with a feeling of virtue.

I'm doing a sort of modified No-S pattern - five out of seven days is good enough. Mostly, it's been every day, but there are some days when I really can't in the morning (usually weekdays), so it's a safety valve for my residual perfectionism.

Alternating Pilates with "other stuff" - still a little afraid to stress the wrist. My Yoga class starts back after MLK day, so will see how it does then.

Thanks again!

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Post by bonnieUK » Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:41 pm

Hi KCCC

Well done to you too for sticking to it!

I often have similar conversations with myself LOL

Yesterday my husband and I tried our first 15 minute daily exercise session together, it was a bit weird to make the switch from morning to after work (and I'm 99% sure that if I was doing it by myself I'd find some excuse not to do it!) but doing something together was nice. He and I can be fairly undisciplined with exercise so we both need to work on it and ensure we don't slack off!

I'm thinking of posting a chart on the fridge (in the style of habit cal) where we can mark days as a success or failure - with the incentive of some S day treat when we stick to it :D

Like you I aim for 5 days out of 7 and accept the fact that some days external factors take over.

Keep up the good work :)

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Post by kccc » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:05 pm

Hey, Bonnie,

I found Yoga video podcasts on iTunes, for free. There's one series that runs about an hour, but another that has sessions just around 20 minutes.

Today, I had to leave early for work, but also got back early, so I tried one out for me "15 minutes" since I had the extra time. A little basic, but that was okay - never hurts to go back to square one. And it was a fun alternative to making up my own (plus pushed me to do the poses I don't like as much).

(My iPod doesn't play video - I have an old model - but you can play the podcasts just on your computer.)

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Post by Murphysraven » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:47 pm

hmm, that interests me, especially if they have some very basic ones (since I haven't done very much yoga before)

Do you have a link KCCC?
When I asked for all things, so that I may enjoy Life, I was given Life, so that I may enjoy all things.

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Post by kccc » Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:58 pm

If you have iTunes, just do a search for Yoga.

YOGAmazing is one I tried. The guy is a little chatty at the beginning, but seems solid, the practices aren't too long, and it's video-based.

Yoga Today is also video, but tends to run longer - about an hour.

There's also some that are audio, but have printable pose directories. One called something like "20 minute yoga sessions" (starts with "20").

All the ones I listed are free downloads.

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Post by bonnieUK » Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:31 pm

Hi KCCC,

thanks that sounds interesting, I have an MP3 player rather than an Ipod so I'll have to see if I can get MP3s instead. I've also seen the odd yoga video on YouTube, there is one Indian guy who is a human pretzel LOL though not sure if his videos are supposed to be instructional or just demonstrations, but I've seen the odd instructional video too (nothing very long). I don't remember the links but they were what came up when I just searched for "yoga".

My (after work) exercise session was quite fun yesterday, my husband was tired and didn't join me (no tick for him on our habit calendar! :D) but I did a few minutes of boxing, a few minutes on the rebounder, a few minutes on the stepper followed by a few minutes of yoga. I didn't specifically measure the time on each activity but the whole session was just over 15 minutes. I guess it was kind of like mini circuit training :D

I'd recommend it to anyone who tends to accumulate fitness equipment that then gets left in a corner and ignored (because you realise that the idea of a whole session on one thing WAY too boring!).

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Post by kccc » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:42 pm

Well, today was the first day back at my "official" yoga classes.

1) I expected a nice introductory session, since there would be (and were) new people. A not-too-strenuous orientation. WRONG. It was all down-dogs and push-up type moves, with boat poses thrown in for variety. I will be sore tomorrow. (Thank goodness my wrist seems better.)

2) This morning, as I wandered to the coffeemaker, my mind wandered to the question "do I still need to do 15 minutes in the morning now that my classes are starting?" On the one hand, it's served its purpose, right? On the other, after building the habit, seems a shame to throw it away.

Before I could reach an answer to #2, my body started moving of its own accord, and my mind just went along for the ride...

I suppose I could use the time for more cardio/strength activities, to balance out my overall workout. Maybe even Shovelglove. (Maybe!)

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