Here is a great way to begin new, healthy habits. I read a book recently called Habits Die Hard, 10 steps to building successful habits.
Its a short easy to read book (109 pages) and i highly recommend picking it up. here is a quote from the book "we first make our habits, and then our habits make us". I have found in 7 short days, nothing could be more true. Once you become aware of your habits, you have the tools needed to begin changing your life for the better. another small piece from the book " those who are great, i have made great. those who are failures, i have made failures. I am not a machine, though i work with the precision of a machine and the intelligence of a person. you can run me for profit or you can run me for ruin. show me how you want it done. Educate me. train me. lead me. reward me. and i will then do it automatically. i am your servant who am i? i am a habit. what does this have to do with 15 minutes of yoga a day? That is the habit I set out to develop Some yoga teachers or practitioners practice way longer than that. For me, this has been a challenge. I work, I have a home and a family to take care of. I have to schedule things like yoga, or they do not get done..daily. I have time for 2 or 3 yoga classes a week. For me, that is not enough. I want and need to practice everyday. The yoga helps me with many aspects of my life, including stress management. Life has been stressful as of late, and there is more unrest on the horizon. I needed to create a good habit. The book told me to go buy a big wall sized yearly calendar. I did. It told me to hang it on a wall that I see everyday. i did. It told me to put a big red (or pink in this case) x in each day on the calendar that I do whatever it is I set out to do. I do that. Everyday that I do yoga, whether its going to a class or on my own..and the calendar is to become a sea of X's... I am a morning person when it comes to physical activity..however this time I am developing a new habit..of doing my practice mid-day, which for me is more comfortable physically. I do not wake up limber and an early morning practice would require me to cut back on much needed sleep..which might develop into an obstacle in my quest for this new habit. so my new new habit is practicing mid-day, no matter how hungry I am, before lunch I do yoga, and meditate. Your own new habit need not be 15 minutes of yoga..it can be 15 minutes of reading, walking, praying, studying, cleaning out a closet, organizing your desk, or any other activity you want to get used to doing as a routine part of life. 15 minutes is a reasonable amount of time. we all have 15 minutes. until next time I leave you with this... "we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit" (aristotle) Keep your peace- jodie
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AuthorJodie Kallas, ERYT 500, Yoga teacher, Mom, animal rights activist, Reiki Practitioner former pastry chef, founder of nassau County NY's first Yoga Co-op. ArchivesCategories
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