Last week we had a hurricane. Anyone notice? Well, I think everyone heard about it, but it may not have been as dramatic for you if you weren’t somewhere in the Northeast of the USA. But wow, it was a lot more dramatic for us here than I think most of us expected. So often, the news stations hype it up before the fact, then whatever “it” is blows through and it’s much ado about nothing. Not. This. Time.
So, my husband and I were pretty lucky. Though we live in a basement right next to the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, we didn’t get flooded. Phew. But still, the damage to NY was extreme, and it disrupted pretty much everyone’s lives here, and will continue to do so. For the first week, there was just no way to travel into the city, to do normal work and leisure activities or see the normal people. In short, all the routines and rituals of our days, small and large, were completely disrupted.
Considering what others were experiencing, all of that was dealable. And yet, when things are topsy turvy, I think it’s pretty important to keep some sort of routine, to keep your nervous system from freaking out and adding to the general sense of distress. In other words, when things are crazy, I get on my mat.
For many people, a yoga self practice is one of the hardest things to cultivate. There you are, in your house, with all your work and family and laundry and obligations around you, and you’re supposed to take an hour (or 45 minutes or an hour and a half) to bend, stretch, breathe and notice? Yeah, right! But on the other hand, maybe it’s not so hard, if you’re prepared.
Here’s where my personal yoga is terrific. In ashtanga yoga, you have a routine that is yours. You do it every day. With a teacher or without a teacher it is the same. You get on your mat at a prescribed time (or thereabouts) and do that day’s practice. Sometimes it feels good. Sometimes it feels crappy. Sometimes you’re tired. Sometimes you’re energized. Sometimes it’s meditative. And sometimes your monkey mind gets the better of you. But it’s still always the same. You get on your mat, and the routine follows.
So, when I found myself without my peeps, in an apartment crowded with cans, produce, bottles filled with water, and other mess, with a sick cat and a monkey mind worried about all the people in my life who were having issues I couldn’t help, I found myself getting on my mat anyway. At first I felt maybe I’d just do a sun salute then have breakfast. Then I did one. And another. And another. And suddenly I was doing my whole practice. Well, just about. It was a little faster than it should have been. I didn’t get as hot. I didn’t try as hard. I didn’t quite quiet my mind. But I did sun salutes, standing postures, the series of the day, and finishing to some extent. That is a practice. And when I was done, each day, I felt a little better able to “hold it together” until things were more normal. It was one hour of my day that did feel normal.
Now if you’re in someone else’s home, in a shelter, in a hotel, this little bit of advice won’t help as much. Clearly there will be bigger issues. But I mean this as an idea for the more frequent, general ups and downs of your life. And I take it to heart myself, in just this spirit. Ritual is important. It’s a way to steady your mind and nervous system, even when everything feels topsy turvy.
I’m reading the most interesting book right now, called The Power of Habit. I’ll review it more fully when I’m done, but it really struck me last week, as I was getting on my mat in the early morning all alone. The brain is a weird and wonderful thing. It craves the familiar. It develops patterns and habits even we don’t know are there. And it’s hard to change those habits. But you can add NEW habits. By careful planning, steady practice, and with concerted ongoing effort, you can cut a new groove in your grey matter.
Say you have a habit of getting up in the morning, checking your Facebook page and drinking coffee. Every morning you do this. The trigger is the alarm. It annoys you into awakedness. The habit is Facebook. Gotta check it, it’s just what you do. The reward is a few minutes of blissed out reading and gossiping. But you can add a new habit in the middle. The alarm annoys you into awakedness. You get up and put on your yoga clothes and head down to your local yoga teacher (or get out your own mat). Maybe you drink coffee first anyway, I do, but for many days you get on the mat, even though it feels hard. The reward is the same. A mind focused on something other than the fact that you’re up earlier than you wanted to be. 🙂 But now you have a new healthy habit, in just the same spot occupied by Facebook (or a donut). Perhaps you give yourself a reward at the end. Not a donut. Your favorite smoothie. I can help you create it!
All of which is to say, if you’re looking to develop a yoga practice and getting to class on a regular basis is hard, let’s set up your personal routine and fit it into your life. Let me help you create a new habit. You start with the MDR, the Minimum Daily Requirement, which will shift as you go along. And little by slowly by day by week by month, you’ll find you have a morning ritual that grounds your whole day. We can do it in person or via web conference. If I can do it, anyone can.
And with that, I’m finishing my coffee and getting on the mat.
So, how does habit help or hinder your days? Weigh in! Stay dry. And come to class if you’re nearby.
