Struggling to find the motivation to get on your yoga mat? Here are 3 ideas to try.

Set a very small yoga goal.

Something so small that you have no resistance to it. For example, roll out your mat and sit on it for 1 minute. Or, practice for 5 minutes doing Cat/Cow, Child’s Pose and Downdog. If you find that you’re still having trouble with consistency, make the goal even smaller.

This might sound silly, but a similar example would be that if you’re trying to set a habit of working out at the gym 4-5 days per week, you start by packing your clothes in your gym bag and having it in your car. Once you have that habit down, you practice driving to the gym and walking inside for a few minutes. Eventually, you work up to a short 20 minute workout, then go from there. Baby steps really do help!

Tack your practice on to another habit you have.

For example, do your yoga practice after making your bed in the morning or after brushing your teeth in the evening. What habits do you have that you’re incredibly consistent with? Utilize the consistency that’s in place as a catalyst to create more consistency with your yoga practice.

When you look at your daily and weekly routines, what are you relentlessly consistent with? What feels easy to be consistent with?

Take some time to check in with how you’re doing, really. Use your emotions as inspiration for your practice.

There are so many life factors that can impact your practice. Take some time to reflect on what’s going on for you, big picture. What are your priorities? What are you spending most of your time on? How have you been feeling lately? If there are any unaddressed emotions coming up, see if you can weave those into your practice. If you’re feeling sad, let your practice be slow and restorative. If you’re feeling restless or anxious, get a sweaty, vigorous practice in.

Not sure what you need? Just show up regardless and listen to what your body and heart are telling you in the moment.