How to Make Your Yoga Habit An Everyday Bliss with These 7 Tricks!

Have you been struggling to make a yoga habit in your life? I find that once I’m in my daily routines it’s pretty hard to break out of them.

I don’t always like all these habits (even though I know it makes life run smoother) because it makes me feel like I’m turning into an old person who can’t change.

So, it’s something I try to be aware of so that when I need to build in a new habit, I can be mindful of my reason for doing it.

I know it’s a cliche phrase that’s been bandied around for years now but if I find my why, it’s much easier to make it a habit.

Harvard Health confirmed that “After eight weeks of practicing yoga at least twice a week for a total of 180 minutes, participants had greater muscle strength and endurance, flexibility, and cardio-respiratory fitness“.

Let’s get into all the tips and tricks I’ve got to cultivate a lasting habit of doing yoga daily, making it as achievable as possible.

Understanding the Importance of a Daily Yoga Habit

This is part of the why!

For me I need to understand the benefits of doing yoga each day.

More than just that it feels good and I hear it’s good for you. I need details.

Physical well-being

Daily yoga has proven to provide multiple physical benefits.

These include: better flexibility, improved core strength, much better posture and also balance. Because of these enhancements to our physical body we then have less injuries and better overall health.

According to the American Osteopathic Association “Maintaining a regular yoga practice can provide physical and mental health benefits”.

Emotional stability

When you practice yoga you become very mindful, focusing on your breathing while holding most poses.

The regular practice leaves you feeling a sense of inner peace and emotional balance.

It allows us to have dedicated time to check in with ourselves each day and put time into self reflection and noticing our personal resilience.

Clarity and focus

I find yoga clears out my busy brain by focusing on getting the poses just right and by breathing into my body.

It leaves me feeling like I’ve spent time with myself, instead of having a continual flow of chatter about others and whats going on during the day.

Somehow it leaves room in your mind for more clarity, better focus and the ability to handle life’s challenges.

Yoga is known for calming the mind and stress reduction.

Forming the Habit

Choosing to practice yoga each day is a commitment to not only our physical and mental health but also to being consistent.

Consistency is habit forming and doing yoga daily helps to make it become a habit seamlessly.

Your personal why

So we now know all the physical and mental benefits but think about why do you as an individual want to do yoga daily?

Is it because you’ve had certain issues and know yoga is the solution?

Is it because you have injuries and yoga will keep your health under control without the jarring and jolting on the body?

Do you struggle with your balance, mental health, flexibility?

Are you someone who wants better for yourself and just wants to incorporate a beautiful, mindful habit?

Whatever your reason, get clear on it. This helps on those days that you dont feel like doing yoga you remember your why.

7 Tips for Making Yoga a Daily Habit

1. Start with realistic goals

I don’t know if you’re like me, but I tend to be all gung-ho to begin with and then get over it pretty quick. To prevent that happening, start slow. Perhaps start by doing yoga 3 days each week. Another option is to start every day but just doing 10 minutes each time. My point here is start slowly and gradually build up to your ideal session length and number of days.

2. Make a special place to build your yoga habit

If you create a special place for you to practice yoga each time, somewhere that might have some nice soft cushions, some natural light or a candle. Just put some time into the space you’re going to do yoga, so that it’s somewhere you look forward to coming each day. It signals to your brain that this is your calm, safe and relaxing space.

3. Build it into your current routine

We all have our usual routines, what time we wake up, breakfast, leave for work etc. Work out a strategy to make yoga part of that regular routine. It could mean you do yoga as soon as you get up, then you have your breakfast and get on with the rest of your day. Or it might be best during your lunch break, whatever works for you. I normally find that directly before bed works for me. I do my yoga routine on my bedroom floor with music playing, then jump into bed for meditation and sleep.

4. Find a yoga buddy

Do you have any friends from yoga class? It doesn’t mean you need to do yoga with them, but you could check in on each other every so often to see if you’re both sticking to your routine. I go to a yoga class with others every Saturday morning, the rest of the week I either make up my own routine at home or follow a video.

5. Use technology to help

Since Covid-19 when everything went online we have many more options to do things in the comfort of our own home. Why don’t you try some yoga classes online, youtube videos, yoga apps. There’s lots of options to make yoga accessible to you wherever you are at any time of the day. I’ve got some favourites that I go back to time and time again on youtube.

6. Join a yoga class

This reminds me of why Weight Watchers is so successful, because many of us need accountability and group activities to keep us motivated. Hopefully you know yourself and what you need, if not just give it a go. I’m someone who doesn’t like going out after work during the week, but on the weekends I love joining in with a yoga class. If you like the class environment best, go to a community group, with friends or join a local class.

7. Find the yoga that suits you

Not all of us are into sweating it out with Hot Yoga, some like Vinyasa flow or something more restorative. Try different styles of yoga to work out what you love. That way you will be wanting to get up and do it each day. Try lots of different styles until you find the one. Stick with that, unless you get bored and then change it up again.

How to Not Break Your Yoga Routine

Start small

Avoid the temptation to go full on into it from the beginning. Start with a small amount of time, maybe ten minutes a day and just get into that daily routine before you go any pushing yourself. Once you’ve done that for a couple of weeks, then start increasing the timeframe or intensity of the yoga.

Be prepared

It’s human nature to have setbacks and you need to be realistic about this. So expect that you’ll make up some lame excuses to get out of it or you’ll get sick or have to do something else when you planned to do yoga. Don’t give yourself a hard time, just start again with your intention the next day.

Celebrate achievements

When you start make a little deal with yourself. When I reach 2 weeks with yoga each day I will…….got out for a healthy breakfast, buy yoga pants, get myself a new drink bottle. You get where I’m coming from, you need to celebrate your milestones. These are part of what will inspire you to keep going.

Be flexible

When those unexpected things crop up, can you work around it? do you need to skip yoga today? Do you need to change the time you do yoga today? Do you need to skip class but do an at home routine? Just be flexible for life’s little events that inevitably happen from time to time.

Mix it up

If you are someone who loves the more gentle yoga practices don’t just do the same routine every single day. You will end up bored out of your brains. Maybe have a catalogue of 2 or 3 youtube videos that you choose from when doing yoga at home. Change them up every so often to get fresh ideas and moves. Keep things interesting by learning new things sometimes.

Track your progress

I like to look back and see how much I’ve achieved, are you the same? I know some people who get a calendar and give themselves a sticker each day they do yoga. It’s amazing looking back at how it adds up and you can see how your consistency has improved along the way.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

How long should I practice yoga every day?

I suggest starting out with 10 minutes per day. Slowly does it to begin with.

How long does it take make yoga a habit?

Research shows that once you’ve done something for 21 times it has become a habit. We’re all different and I’d say do it until it’s just slotted into your normal daily routine. Consistency is your key to building the habit.

What if I miss a day of practice?

Missing a day is not the end of the world. Take everything as a lesson, find out why you missed that day – were you tired, sick of the routine, forgot to schedule it in? Once you work that out you should be able to find a solution to make it easier tomorrow. Just try again the next day – don’t give up.

What time of day is best for yoga?

Ideally practice yoga in the morning or before bed. That way it’ll help you relax and unwind and make it easier to stick to your yoga practice.

How can I motivate myself to do yoga every day?

To stay motivated and build a daily yoga habit you can: start with realistic goals, make a special place, build it into your current routine, find a yoga buddy, use technology to help, joing a yoga class and find the yoga style that suits you.

Can I do yoga if I have physical limitations?

Absolutely. Yoga can be adapted to accommodate most physical conditions. Talk to a qualified yoga instructor who can give you modified routines and guide you in practicing safely.

How do I incorporate yoga into my daily life?

Sit down and work out what your normal routine for the day is, then work out what the most convenient time will be to slot yoga in will be. Do it consistently for more than 21 days and you will find it becomes part of your daily routine too!

What rewards should I use to make yoga a daily habit?

That depends on you and what you like. I catching up with friends for a healthy brunch, getting myself yoga treats – like a yoga mat, a drink bottle, yoga mat. What would make you feel like you’ve done a good job? some people put money in a separate account, others get to watch Netflix after yoga. Whatever works for you.