Dear Lisa of the Future,
I’m completed day 15 of a 30 day yoga series, doing sessions on any day I am not doing a workout versus every single day.
I’ve done these series before and it’s been very positive. Yet I have also stopped every other time after a series or two. Did I get bored? Did I think the benefits would endure even if I didn’t practice? Did I think my commitment to it needed to be 100 percent in order to embark?
- I cannot remember. So this is what I want to lock in: There is only upside to practicing yoga!
- With just 15 times on the mat so far, I am more flexible and strong.
- Sometimes my brain truly does shut down and I can be in my body paying attention.
- Some good ideas have shown up without any effort.
- I feel proud that I am taking care of myself and that good feeling spells over into other aspects of my day.
At some point in the future, if the past is a guide, I will stop practicing again. I will drift away from it for whatever reason even though I truly believe that yoga brings me vitality now and a greater probability of staying alive and healthy for longer. I am the mother of a teen and a twenty something year old. Being alive, healthy and vital for a long time matters a lot to me.
So I am writing this little reminder to my future self. Keep going to your mat. Some days you will feel tired, rushed, bored or resistant. Go anyway. Consider it a win if you take a few deep breaths and roll your spine up and down a time or two. Make this investment in you for you and the people you love.
Namaste,
Lisa
P.S. Don’t forget The Long Time Sun, the song you loved from Kundalini yoga this past winter.