‘If one diligently practices yoga or meditation or wishes to get super fit, it can’t be viewed in isolation. To sustain any practice, you can’t help but make changes to the way you live your day to day life.’
I have gotten into a bit of a hurried morning routine over the past couple of months.
My yoga class begins at 5.45.
I used to wake up at 5.00 am and be ready by 5.25. The class is a 5–6-minute ride so if I leave by 5.30 am, I reach class in advance. This gives me time to just sit, brush off sleepiness and lethargy, stretch a bit and be ready for class.
5.00 am gradually became 5.15 then 5.20 am. This means I end up leaving home by 5.38 am and reach class just in time. Most days, the class has just begun and the initial mantram has already been said. Even if I make it in time for the mantram, I still rush.
There is a massive paradox in this stupid behavior.
The whole idea of going for yoga is to reduce accumulated stress, become more flexible and disciplined and to relax the monkey brain.
By rushing for class, I realise that the effects of doing yoga are being negated.
Why do I say that?
Rushing to yoga class and expecting to leave after an hour in a blissful state of mind is a bit futile.
The best way to reap its benefits is to sleep earlier, wake up on time and enter class in a relaxed state of mind.
Yoga is not a pill that miraculously alters one state. It’s a way of life.
A couple of days back, I walked towards my bike after class and saw someone else rushing for class. They had parked their bike next to mine and it was almost touching my bike. I had to lift their bike a little to take mine out.
Again, a case of the calm and discipline that yoga provides not reflecting in real life.
There is a difference between an event and a way of life.
If one diligently practices yoga or meditation or wishes to get super fit, it can’t be viewed in isolation. To sustain any practice, you can’t help but make changes to the way you live your day to day life.
Waking up earlier means sleeping early and avoiding needless late nights. This means turning away more party invitations and drinking sessions. When you see healthy people around you, you will seek out healthier eating habits.
All of this is changing the way you live.
Many of us tend to view these in isolation, expecting a class/book/seminar/pill to radically alter our lives without putting in the effort to make wholesome changes to the way we live our lives.
A person visits a psychiatrist because they have been feeling a bit low, but returns to an environment that triggers those feelings again.
Someone reads a book on building a great team, but returns to a toxic work environment.
Healthy habits and useful knowledge must have a rub-off on how we live our lives to be truly effective.
That’s what I plan to do over the next few weeks and months.
Not just show up for yoga class in a harried manner but lead a more disciplined life to ensure that I don’t have to rush in the first place.
HT — Marshall Goldsmith on how to keep ourselves accountable.
