Let’s talk about discipline
We all know that in order to achieve our practice goals, for example, weight loss, muscle tone, emotional balance etc., we must make an effort, including have a disciplined practice schedule.
In the traditional yoga text “Hatha Yoga Pradipika”, there are many guidelines introduced to practitioners, including those that we should practice yoga with an empty stomach. It is not difficult to understand why we should not do asana immediately after food. That is the time when our digestive system is busy working on the digestion and we should not disturb the process. In fact in other practices like kriya, pranayama, meditation etc., should also be done with an empty stomach. At least we need to leave 2-3 hours gap in between, to make sure our energy flow in the body is smooth. If we follow these guidelines strictly, meaning that we do all the practices with empty stomach, we have to get up very early in the morning to complete 1-2 hours of practices. For example, if you normally go to work at 8am, you probably have to wake up at 5am to complete your morning yoga routine. This requires a lot of self-discipline.
Nowadays, doing 1-2 hours yoga practices daily in the morning is a luxury to many of us, as we all have busy schedules. Therefore, We usually tell our students not to worry about the practice time first, get started by practicing 10 mins daily. Even daily practices of 10 mins can be challenging for some students, but that has to be done if they are serious about their goals. By doing the short practices, we develop more self-discipline, and longer practices can be ventured to later.
What do you feel about our suggestion above? Shall we start with a 10 mins practice tomorrow? Early in the morning, with an empty stomach? Don’t forget to record your progress as it becomes a benchmark for progression. Learn Yoga with EzFit Singapore to incorporate into your busy lifestyle to reduce stress!
