I’ve been reading more and more about people challenging themselves with fitness goals.  The runners and cyclists out there have been signing up for races and thus, gearing up for their training.  Others have been hitting the gym hard. They’ve been trying to go as often as they can, taking classes varying from Body Pump, kickboxing, spinning and Budokon.  I’ve also encountered people who have been committing themselves to getting at least an hour of cardio close to every day, along with some strength training.  And then there are the ones who are challenging themselves to practicing yoga for a pre-determined set of days.  I love the perseverance and dedication from all the people I’ve been reading about – regardless of the activity they are committed to doing.  I don’t know if it’s because of New Year’s resolutions, if the winter doldrums are forcing people to want to be active in order to stay warm or if it’s because people are just in need to get into shape.  But whatever the reason is, I support it 100%.

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I guess the fitness fever is contagious because I’ve been doing my hardest to practice yoga as much as I can.  And when I say, ‘as much as I can’, that means every day.  I’ve been trying to get myself to the studio every day of the week to get my daily session of hot power yoga.  In theory, being able to get on my mat every chance I can get is a glorious thing.  But, that is theory, and not reality.  Because I’ve been without a car for the past few weeks, Patrick and I have been having to share his.  Thus, going to class whenever I want hasn’t been entirely possible.  Patrick and I have been working on several exciting projects and while I am grateful for that, I’ve been quite busy and have had to adjust my schedule.  And naturally, there are just some days when I’m tired, sore or just plain not in the mood to go to class.  In other words, I just haven’t been able to practice yoga as often as I would like.

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When I couldn’t meet my self-prescribed challenge, I’ll have to admit I was a bit bummed.  I kept asking myself questions like, ‘what is wrong with me?’, ‘why can’t I do it?’, ‘why am I so lazy?’ and ‘why can everyone else complete their goals but me?’  But none of those questions were making me feel any better and they weren’t helping me accomplish my goals any faster.  In fact, I was feeling worse.

I love how I feel in my body, mind and soul when I’m practicing yoga.  I feel strong, happy, healthy, love for my self and for all those around me and I feel capable.  I’m relaxed when I’m on my mat and I’m at ease.  I’m not critiquing myself, I’m not upset if I don’t meet a certain mark and I’m not putting myself down.  In fact, I’m at peace with myself when I’m practicing yoga.  So why can’t I have these same emotions and feelings when I’m off the mat?  Why is it that when I’m not practicing, I can’t seem to achieve that same level of peace?

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This dilemma has plagued me for quite some time, and I’m still not sure if I’ll ever have the complete answer.  But what I have come to realize is that there shouldn’t be a beginning and an end to one’s yoga practice.  Yoga should be something that is practiced everyday, but that doesn’t mean one needs to be on their mat.  The lessons we learn in class about life and about ourselves should be something we practice on a consistent basis, not just for 90 minutes a day in a bamboo-floored studio.  Just like the transitions we utilize in yoga flowing from pose-to- pose, our actions and thoughts we have on and off the mat should be seamless.  We grow and transcend when we can mimic what we accomplish in our yoga practice, in our daily lives.  As my yoga teacher tells us, “our mats should be a practice space, not a performance space.”  We shouldn’t reserve all of our positive energy and emotion just for the times that we are able to make it to class or to our mats, and shine for those short moments when we are in the studio.  By using the time when we can practice yoga as time to teach and prepare ourselves for our day-to-day lives, we are truly practicing.  And when we can make how we conduct ourselves while we’re practicing yoga be virtually the same as when we are not, then the need for making challenges and for criticizing ourselves when we aren’t able to meet our own standards suddenly aren’t as important.  We can practice every day because the practice of yoga is something that can be done in our minds.  We don’t need to be on our mats or in a studio, we just need our breath and the knowledge that peace can be achieved at any time and any place.

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Do you like setting goals for yourself?  How do you keep yourself motivated?  What do you do when you can’t meet your goals?

Namasté,
Nicole