Namaste, Dammit!

You're angry. You're depressed. You're overwhelmed. You're snarky.

What to do when you don't WANT to do hot yoga?

You know all the reasons you should do hot yoga...your bad back will straighten, your hurt knees will feel healed, your arthritis will ease, your rotten mood will soften...but right this minute, you don't FEEL like doing yoga, dammit. And class starts in 5 minutes.

You're not alone. A glut of hot yoga students show up 5 minutes before class begins - or 2 minutes after we lock the door to the yoga room - so we always know the days you had to drag yourself to hot yoga class.

We don't blame you; we welcome you. In fact, we have a lot of respect for you when you gag the Demon and show up anyway.

You've got your reasons...damn good ones. You're working overtime. You have a long commute right behind the old man who drives with his reading glasses. Your kids needed a ride to soccer practice and you thought today was Wednesday.

Hey, we've been there. We still are - yoga teachers are people, too.

So as a yogi and yoga teacher for the past 30-40 years, here's my advice on how to do yoga when you don't want to do yoga...and it's probably different than you would expect.

Option 1: Release the Small Self

Anytime you're about to grow, your ego says, "NO! I'm comfortable here!  Just let me sit in the dark a bit longer."

Hot yoga isn't comfortable in any way; the room is hot, your towel smells, the person next to you ate garlic for lunch (don't ask how I know that) and anyway you've got a million more urgent things to do.

What can you do? Ignore your snarly-voiced demon, put one foot in front of the other, head for the door, and take yourself to hot yoga class.

Want to go further? On the way to yoga, answer these three questions to shed some light on the Demon's face:

1. What is most holding me back? What thoughts do I have about myself right now that make me not want to go to yoga?

2. Do I have a rule that I have to be perfect before I'll show up?  If I end up next to that Gumby woman - will I just feel worse about myself?

3. What two action steps can I take right now? )If you're on your way to class, you're doing one of them). How about when I walk through the yoga room door - what one thing can I do to feel just a little bit better (greet the teacher; smile; compliment someone on something random; take the deepest breath I ever took) Choose one and do it.

Option 2: Give in and lie down

Didn't think I was going to say this, did you? Well, sometimes it's the best option.

Procrastination isn't always a flaw; sometimes, it's an inner knowing that this isn't your optimal timing.

How can you differentiate between procrastination and perfect action? Play the What Feels Better game. Close your eyes and say this to yourself:

"I'm not going to yoga." Before your mind kicks in, feeling what immediately comes up in your stomach: without defining or explaining or thinking, do you feel relief or clench?

Now try this one: "I am going to yoga class right now." Don't think, don't think, don't think, don't think just FEEL: relief or tightness?

Go with your gut feelings. And I do mean gut... because this is where your heart is.

Your gut doesn't lie: you get an immediate sense of relief of a sense of tightness. This is not your small self talking: this is your guidance system, right there in your stomach. That feeling is telling you what is best for you right now.

But how do I know for sure whether it's my Higher Self or my Snarly Demon talking?" You won't know it in your mind; you'll feel it in your gut. Relief or recoil; you can differentiate between these two easily. Instantly. That's the one.

It's not always best to force yourself to do what you don't want to do.  If you don't feel it in your gut, don't put it on your plate. Check in again tomorrow.

And hey, there's always a warm spot for you in our hot yoga room...come back and play another day.

Comments

[Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT]

When you'd rather not do hot yoga...just think about how you'll feel afterwards...ahhh, there's nothing like it! But if you need a day in bed with a book and some green tea, we'll see you tomorrow; the heat is always on for you here.