Running with resistance
Last week I had my mornings free. It gave me time to wake up, meditate, do my pranayama practice, have a cup of coffee, and then do my yoga practice. It felt absolutely incredible to be able to get that all done first thing in the morning as I usually have to split it up throughout the morning.
As I was going through my new morning routine I noticed a little resistance creeping in occasionally. My mind began to tell me things like, you have all morning, you can have another cup of coffee first, or go read a book outside, or any number of excuses that my brain could conjure up. 😂
Having time and options can be a funny thing. We all wish we had more time in our days, but it can be too much of a good thing. Allowing ourselves too many options can get confusing. We play out scenarios that could work and waste a lot of time thinking instead of doing. Before you know it your best laid plans have gone to shit, and you don't have time to do what you wanted to do.
When you are creating a routine or a new habit it is best not to give yourself too many options. We are often resistant to structure and discipline, but when we are forming sustainable habits, structure and discipline are often very necessary. Being structured does not mean being rigid, which can actually backfire, but having a set routine or schedule for your habit is important to being successful, especially when you are first starting out.
One thing to remember is: resistance always comes up. I have been practicing yoga for 20 years and I still have days where I have to talk myself into getting started. There will always be resistance, it's what you do when the resistance comes up.
Sometimes your resistance will win out. I had that happen this past week. I did my meditation and pranayama practices and decided I would do some other things before I did my yoga practice. One thing led to another and before I knew it I only had 30 minutes to get my practice in. While something is always better than nothing, it was not as much time as I had planned for. What it did do was help me be more motivated to begin again the next day and stick to my planned routine.
Having the knowledge that resistance is going to show up can often make it easier to deal with it when It does. You can start to notice that is what is happening and approach it with kindness and compassion rather than anger and judgement. If the resistance wins out you just begin again the next day without the guilt.
How are your habits holding up as we roll into the third month of the year? Have you been staying on track or have things started to fall off? If you ever need accountability or support I am just an email away.