I’ve pretty much stopped doing the physical practice of Kundalini Yoga which is a problem for me. My body needs to be stretched and exercised more, and I know it. I’ve been making up excuses which I need to stop doing. I’ve noticed the following things effect how easy it is for me to get myself doing the physical practice:
Having a clean, beautiful, calm space to practice in
This seems to be really important to my subconscious. Last year when I did my first 40 day challenge of physical yoga I was able to do the majority of my practice on a dock of a lake with water lilies blooming. There were tall trees surrounding the dock overarching it, and the was shining every day. It was warm and blissful.
When I woke up in the morning I was up almost instantly and excited to do my practice. It felt good! I looked forward to soaking in the sun and breathing the fresh, clean air, and looking at the water and flowers.
Right now I live in rainy Vancouver. It’s an urban setting and sometimes I can get to a park near my house to practice in, depending on the day. There are a lot more people here though so it can be challenging finding a nice, quiet, out-of-the-way spot on evenings and weekends. I’ve done my practice beside drunk people, beside people fishing, beside arguing couples, with dogs, and surrounded by screaming children.
My house doesn’t have a yard appropriate to practice: concrete back yard, messy front yard. I can do my practice inside my room when my other projects are not taking over my space. Painting a yoga mat though takes up most of the available floor space in the room for the day.
Because of all of these reasons, which are really excuses, my mind will play the card that there is nowhere to practice. Or it’s too much work or time-consuming to find the space to practice. Therefore I shouldn’t practice.
Not feeling pressured for time
As soon as I feel pressured for time it’s challenging for me to relax. I find myself rushing through the postures, and it’s very challenging for me to calm down my mind, which in itself could be and is a practice.
I really dislike feeling I have only five minutes to lie in savasna. I like to have a leisurely practice where I can snooze in savasna if I feel like it, and roll over to journal if I want, before getting up to eat something.
Do the practice in the morning
If I don’t do my practice in the morning I feel off kilter in some way. I also have a harder time fitting it into my day once my day has started. It’s like I’m on a different flow and its hard for me to stop that flow once its going (I’m a bit of a workaholic too probably).
Problem Solved!
Traditionally in Kundalini Yoga your morning practice should be at the time of Sadhana, 4 am to 7 am. These hours are the most potent time for your practice to be done because the sun is just rising and the energy on the planet is strong, clear, and refreshed.
I’ve also been listening to podcasts of people I’d like to emulate and the one thing that keeps coming up is to have a morning practice. I’ve even met people recently who have lifestyles I’d like to be living, and they speak about their morning “hour of power”, etc.
My practice fluxes throughout the day because I’ve refused to change my lifestyle to match the KY lifestyle. I party too much (I love to dance) so often on weekends I’m home at three or four in the morning. Which would make practising at that time an interesting endeavour.
Nonetheless, I’ve decided it must get done when I wake up in the morning. I feel better the earlier in the day I do my meditations, and I feel best when I am doing my meditations and a physical Kundalini Yoga practice. I have been working for the last week and a half to change my sleep pattern so I can get up at 4 am. I’m currently getting up at 5.30 am – slowly but surely!
The setting of my practice space is so important to me. When its dark, lighting a candle and allowing myself the time and space to go inside is a beautiful experience. Feeling my body expand and release the stress it holds from the day before and the distant past is a freeing experience. As my shoulders become more relaxed, my posture straighter, my hamstrings more flexible I fall in love with the practice all over again.
What do you notice stops you from doing a daily practice? How do you resolve that?
Sat nam. After all excuses and situations it always comes down to commitment. Guruka Singh has a video on Sikhnet about this. I have been on and off my practice so many times it would be impossible to count. It always comes back to the issue of commitment. You wrote “I’ve decided it must get done when I wake up in the morning.” So now it will be done. You can work your way back to 4am, add and subtract portions of the practice if it all seems to much. Go with the flow and your commitment will lead you. Blessings.
Thank you for reading and for your response. It’s wonderful to hear of other peoples experience and you are right. It is all about the commitment. I may not yet be at a 4 am practice but I have made daily meditation happen no matter what. And I can see the beautiful effects that commitment has had on my life, which now inspires more commitment. Such a joy. Much love.
I have learned that even the struggle to practice is part of your practice. It all boils down to things not being exactly how we want them, exactly all the time, exactly the way we expect. Whether on the mat, or in the dance club, or at work–we have to learn how to deal with the way things are. You decided on a path, and part of that path includes this time of “here are my excuses for not working on this path.” EXCELLENT!
The struggle to practice consistently doesn’t go away, but it gets (much) easier as you design your life around it; which takes time. So everyday, you do what you can, how you can, for as long as you can. The commitment builds upon itself like that.
Some things are hard to say over the internet, but basically I just wanted to let you know that we’ve all been there and it serves a purpose that you won’t figure out until later down the road. Enjoy yourself. 🙂
Awe, thank you so much for your comment. It really hit home and helped me. I appreciate your words so much. <3
I am experienceing challenge with this very thing and loved hearing someone else speak to this. I have kept in mind that the challenge is part of the practice. It is that patterns uprooting and the ego/identity tugging hard for it’s power to remain. Every step we take towards sadhana is a victory! Then mental stuff that comes up is what there is to contend with, and anything we do in that direction is a victory as well.
So grateful for your blog and blunt sharing. It is inspiring. I have been told to share and write myself and have been reluctant, your doing so gives me the inspiration to take that leap. Many thanks and blessings!
Mahanraj Kaur
You’re welcome! Thanks for reading!
I personally find the Kundalini Yoga journey to be so individualized and diverse sometimes it’s a challenge to relate certain experiences with the yogis around me. We are all in different stages of the journey! When you start writing let me know! I’d love to read your work!