Get Beginner Yoga PDF's in Our Exclusive Library!

Get access to our yoga routines and pose sheet PDF's so we can help you:

8 Ways To Turn Your Yoga Practice Into A Strong Habit

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Weā€™ve all been through it. You look into yoga because of all the amazing things youā€™ve heard it can do for you, like lose weight, sculpt your body, ease your mind, and then luckily you find an awesome online class, or great studio near you.

How to Turn Your Yoga Practice into a Strong Habit

You try out your first class. Whew, was that a workout! You feel great! You canā€™t wait to go back. You tell yourself you are going to go tomorrow, and this is going to be your new thing! Youā€™ve finally figured out what works for you.

But then the next morning comes and itā€™s time for you to get up and goā€¦

But you find EVERY excuse not to.

Youā€™ve got so many errands to run, or maybe you just need a rest day because you really worked hard yesterday. Yeahā€¦ youā€™ll just go tomorrow.

But then the next day comes…and AGAIN you donā€™t go.

Before you know it, you havenā€™t gone in two weeks and just canā€™t ā€œfind the timeā€ to go.

Donā€™t be so hard on yourself. I went through this, and I think almost every yogi out there went through this (and still do from time to time!)

Creating a new habit is HARD. We subconsciously try to stick to our old routines, and when you initiate something new into it like yoga, it disrupts everything. This is GOOD!

You just need to get over the hurdle of turning your yoga practice into ā€œmaybe Iā€™ll goā€ to ā€œIā€™m goingā€. You want to make it as natural as waking up and brushing your teeth.

And this is possible. Here are a few great hacks you can use to reprogram your mind into creating your yoga practice into a real daily habit and stop making it feel like so much of a struggle to get on your mat.

 

 

1.Do yoga after brushing your teeth.

Did you ever think about how you just automatically do some things every single day? Like they are so deeply ingrained into you that you just do them without even thinking about it?

Like brushing your teeth, or showering, or washing your face.

These are all habits. You developed these habits through repetitive action, and now they just feel natural to you.

If you havenā€™t noticed, a lot of habits are initiated by time. You brush your teeth every time you wake up, itā€™s not just a habit you do any time of the day. You LEARNED this habit!

If you pair a new habit with an already strongly established habit, you will start to associate the two together.

Try doing yoga after a habit you already have, like brushing your teeth in the morning. Eventually you will begin to automatically FEEL the need to do yoga after brushing your teeth everyday!

 

 

2.Plan the class you are going to take the next day.

When things are intricately planned out, you start to feel as though they are already happening. If you say to yourself, ā€œIā€™m going to do yoga tomorrowā€ it is way different then saying ā€œIā€™m going to do the 30 minute Vinyasa flow tomorrow at 10 AM.

Limiting the amount of decisions you have to make when it is time to do it also increases the chance of you actually going. It decreases the overwhelm of deciding what to do, all you have to do is get dressed and go.

 

 

3.Lay everything out.

8 Effective Ways to Make Your Yoga Practice into a Habit

 

Pick out the exact outfit youā€™re going to wear, fill up your water bottle, get your mat ready or lay it out if you are practicing at home. Do every possible thing you could possibly do to get ready.

This goes along with the benefit of limiting decisions you have to make to reduce overwhelm and distraction so you donā€™t give your brain the chance to make up an excuse to not go.

 

 

4.Do a gentle flow if you feel sore instead of not going.

 

I canā€™t even tell you how many times I skipped yoga with the excuse in my head that I shouldnā€™t go because I was too sore and need a rest day. Not only is this not good for your body, as stretching is GOOD when you are sore, but it is a lame excuse not to practice!

Doing yoga, even if you are doing it to lose weight, does not mean you have to do a sweaty power flow every single day.

You need variation in your practice so you donā€™t get bored, and you donā€™t need to do yoga for a certain amount of time either. If you really feel like you canā€™t do your usual 45 minute flow, that is okay. Try doing a gentle, five minute restorative flow.

It will help your brain feel like you are still being consistent rather than if you skip a day, and will motivate you to keep going instead of giving up.

 

 

5.Strive for a goal pose.

Setting big goals can be a great motivator to keep going and moving forward. Find a pose that you know you canā€™t do right now, and build your practice for the next few weeks around getting that pose.

When I first started yoga, I could not for the life of me do chaturanga without collapsing to the ground. I had absolutely no upper body strength. But I began to tailor my practice around getting chaturanga down, and wouldnā€™t you know it, I was able to do it three weeks later!

 

6.Make a master list.

 

List out all of the things you want to achieve (like losing weight, getting stronger, relieving pain, getting less stressed, more confidence) and then list all the ways yoga is going to help you achieve that goal.

It will help rationalize why you are doing yoga and remind you how beneficial it is going to be on your wellbeing.

 

7. Set reminders EVERYWHERE.

Get post its and yoga related pictures that are inspiring to you and put them all around your room. Get the list you made and stick it in a place you will see every day.

It will remind you of why you are doing this and push you to keep going so you can get the results you want to achieve.

 

8. Reward Yourself!

There is nothing more effective than positive reinforcement! Plan out specific rewards for yourself when you practice consistently for two weeks, then one month, or even when you reach other goals like finally getting the goal pose you set out for.

This will make things exciting and you will subconsciously be more motivated to keep practicing so you can get that reward! Make it something you know you will definitely want to work for that uplifts your positive and healthy lifestyle, like a spa day, taking a day trip, or a cute new pair of yoga pants.

 

When it comes to create new and healthy habits, consistency is key. You want to program yourself into just doing your new habit everyday without having to really push yourself to do it. Like I said earlier, this comes from repetition.

 

23 thoughts on “8 Ways To Turn Your Yoga Practice Into A Strong Habit”

  1. I like your strategies for not quitting. I think maybe the number two is the one I was needing to apply for my routine. Overwhelmed is the feeling I have every time I sit on my mat. But now I can fight that and enjoy more. Thanks. Regards šŸ˜‰

    1. Ally at Grounded Panda

      Hi Abril,

      I’m glad they were helpful to you! Yes I used that one a lot when first starting out! Planning ahead and limiting the decisions you need to make on the spot makes it so much easier to just get up and onto your mat šŸ™‚

      1. I am begginer at yoga and here I live we don’t have any yoga studio or something to go, so l print pictures or watching videos and trying to do at home. I made a yoga challenge for a month other two to make it a habit.
        Now I am at day 11.
        Thank you for your help. Those emails are very usefuls

    2. Mantri Narasinga Rao

      Your yoga exercises are most informative and innovative though I am practicing yoga. Sometimes I feel less energetic. After reading your views I got confidence in myself. I will go through the postures you are sending.

    3. Yes I have been doing yoga and Qiyung mostly every day now , but now I am resting I tried Evan the gentil ones I think I strained myself a bit I had exrey and scanes I am will try soon I have been doing meditation to. I am a budhist but now I live in the Philippines with my wife and step duarter, I have been doing yoga in the uk about eight years ago I am now seventy years of age and still like doing yoga and Qiyung
      Nicholas short

  2. Hi Ally, I read your mind set great comments on how to be consistant with Yoga or any others form of exercise, and you helped to give me new insight, and ecouraged motivation to me. Thanks so much form your help and encouragement.

    1. Ally at Grounded Panda

      Hi Carol,

      I’m so happy to hear that! Mind set in my opinion is seriously one of the most, if not the most, important factor to building a successful yoga practice, or any type of new habit- I’m glad I could provide you with the motivation you needed!

  3. Hi Ally, Everyone needs to know you don’t have to go to a class. I live in a rural area, it would take me 30 min one way to drive to a yoga class. I printed out your yoga sheets do one sheet every day with the interval timer on my phone. Another tip it takes 3 weeks to make a habit, so give it 3 weeks and see how you feel.

  4. Love this!! I’ve been slacking lately on a regular yoga practice, but I’d really like to become more consistent. Yoga is such a good stress reliever for me. Definitely going to use your tips!

  5. Thank you cuz Iā€™m always in my head about not being good enough or graceful enough how much time Iā€™m have what poses will I do today all kinds of stuff but when I finally get on my mat it feels so good. This was indeed much needed to hear.

  6. Thanks Ally, I am trying to set up my home practice after not exercising the first month in isolation. What I have always told myself when I was ambivalent about going to class is: ‘I have never regretted going.’ Now I’ll start that with my private mat.

    1. That is a wonderful mindset to have Judy šŸ™‚ When I fall off the wagon and become inconsistent in my practice I try to remember how good it makes me feel and find something about it to get me excited. It is so easy to forget how much we need it. So glad this has helped you get back on your mat! <3

  7. I can’t thank you guys enough for all those helpful notices and hints.
    Am getting into the habit of everyday doing my yoga. I need to work on my right hamstring as it is still a bit sore from a little slip injury I had.
    so thanks again for the encouragement.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top