One complaint you sometimes hear from potential students about starting a yoga practice or for students to maintain their practice is that they simply do not have time for adding yoga into their daily schedule. Time, however, is what we make of it. There are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 52 weeks in the year! We have time for a daily yoga practice if we make time for a regular yoga practice. The many responsibilities we take on in our modern day, fast-paced society means we have to intelligently manage our schedules to make time for what we value. Including a daily yoga practice!

Here are a few tips and tricks for adding yoga into your daily schedule.

Get organized: Preparing for your day starts the night before. Look at your schedule for the next day to block out a time to fit in your daily yoga practice. Write out your daily schedule including appointments, classes, and work times. In your planner, digital calendar or whatever method you use to plan your day mark out a time that works for you to practice. Pack a bag the night before and make sure you have your yoga mat, yoga clothes, water bottle, sweat towel or anything else you would need or like for your practice.

Do your research: Get to know your studio/gym schedule and classes that work for your preferences and times so that adding yoga into your daily schedule becomes routine and easy. Figure out what locations are convenient in your daily schedule and add in a class before or after your morning commute or lunch break. Knowing what instructors you like and the type of class you need at certains time of day can make adding yoga into your daily routine easy. Let your yoga practice be something you look forward to and make it as habitual as brushing your teeth before you go to bed each night. Take the work out of scheduling in your practice. Make adding a daily yoga practice to your routine a habit and it will soon become the highlight of your day 🙂

Create a home practice: If there is simply not enough time in your schedule to make it to a class, creating a go to home practice is a great alternative. It is always a good idea to have a place in your home set aside for your personal practice. This space can always serve as a reminder to cultivate a sacred space and add a yoga practice into your life daily. That way if the unexpected comes up you can still carve out a few minutes of stretching or mediation at the beginning or end of the day if you were unable to make it to your favorite studio or gym.

Get creative: Incorporate your practice into your daily life by stretching in your office chair, adding in 5-10 minutes of meditation on your lunch break, practice bandhas (engagement of energetic locks in the body) when you are driving, sitting or standing and remind yourself to breath deeply. Adding yoga into your daily life can be as simple as finding tadasana (mountain pose) and cultivating awareness of your breath and thoughts anytime you are standing and letting your mind wander. Mindfulness and and the physical practice of yoga can happen anytime and all the time if you are creative and aware.

The physical and philosophical aspects of yoga are meant to be a lifestyle. Adding a daily yoga practice into your life will create an incredible physical, mental and philosophical transformation. Enjoy!