|
|
 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Downward-dog
Netherlands
5 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 13 2014 : 12:05:40 PM
|
Hello,
I wanted to start doing yoga and did so for a few weeks I did it everyday I felt great. I started eating more healthy less and way less meat, I also did pranayama everyday x2.
However, at some point I just totally quit, I didn't have any motivation to roll out my mat or whatever.
I am now trying to make a plan to make it work again I felt great when I went to bed on earlier times stood up in the morning did yoga meditation and pranayama. Is there anyone here who has had trouble being persistent and that found a solution?
I am thinking of setting up a schedual but I do not know how to do that yet I wanted to do yoga three times a day.
I should note I have a personality disorder which can render me to be left without ambition or such it's a schizoid personality disorder. |
Edited by - Downward-dog on Sep 13 2014 12:20:04 PM |
|
|
dv2014
USA
93 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2014 : 3:12:55 PM
|
Hi Downward-dog,
I often found it useful not to make huge plans beforehand. Maybe in the beginning, it is not practical to have a fixed time for meditation. At least that was the case for me - although I wanted to do meditation at 7am and 6pm everyday, it was not easy to get into that schedule. So one day I would do at 7am, another day at 8am, and sometimes in the evening and some other days just before going to bed. Although it is ideal to have a fixed time, and twice daily practice, my goal was (is) to just squeeze in once daily practice. And I mark it on a calendar whenever I managed one meditation session. So my suggestion is (if you have trouble getting into a routine, like me) to just do the bare minimum - not necessarily three times a day (AYP recommends only twice daily practice especially for beginners, I guess), not even twice daily if that appears too much, not even at a fixed time, not so many practices - just deep meditation (this I guess is a stand-alone practice). Right now, your goal can be just to build a continuous track record and develop some confidence in your ability in building a new habit.
I would say, don't make any plans, just do it. The plan will emerge as you progress through ... After you read this post, just get done your today's session in the next 20 minutes!
Once you have it going for a month or two, you would feel much better and you can move on to twice daily and additional practices as per the AYP lessons and self-pacing guidelines.
Also, as you may already know from AYP lessons, we don't have to have a 'spiritual goal' (as they say, to merge with God!) to stay motivated. We may not have an ishta, we may at times be skeptical about God, but as long as we have a desire to improve our functioning in this world, that can be our motivation. For me, I want to be more equipped and self sufficient to face my day-to-day life and that's what my bhakti is at this point.
P.S. I found it helpful to have a small calendar pasted on my desk, despite the availability of electronic calendars. I print a whole year together (from google calendar or other online sources) in a 4x6in postcard size, where I have a box for each day. If I manage to do one meditation session, the box is crossed off. It feels good to see several cross marks at the end of a week or a month. Of course, I have some gaps here and there, but I am not going to punish myself for that. It's OK - overtime, I hope to have an entire year where not a single day is missed.
Best wishes!
|
 |
|
|
Dogboy
USA
2202 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2014 : 3:28:25 PM
|
Immediately upon awakening, after the bathroom, do five minutes of asanas and five minutes of spinal breathing. Convince yourself it is an impossibility to start the day until this task is done. Observe how you will try to talk your way out of it, ("I'm so tired" "I have no ambition." "I need coffee first..."), laugh at the voices in your head and do it anyway. That ten minutes is a major accomplishment, don't kid yourself. String a week together and you'll want to do more, because the rest of the day is set up for more accomplishments. It is a physical high. "One small step for man..."
The next piece you add to it is a meditation practice. Going inward will guide you from there.  . Click on the Main Lessons link.
You can do this! |
|
|
|
Arman
Australia
47 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2014 : 01:54:29 AM
|
As Dogboy says, I'd practice immediately after you wake up. Don't do anything else first. I found that if I delayed my practice for any other activity, I'd be very likely to not do it at all. Be gentle about the whole thing as well, if you can.
If you can make yourself do it right after you wake up, after some time it will be routine. Like brushing your teeth. It won't feel like effort anymore. |
|
|
|
Will Power
Spain
415 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2014 : 05:14:35 AM
|
| Besides following the good comments already stated above, you may want to use the android app "My Chain". You'll want to keep the widget always on green which happens when you do what you planned to do and that adds one point to the chain. Don't break the chain! |
|
|
|
adishivayogi
USA
197 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2014 : 09:14:08 AM
|
| im not one to practice when right after i wake up, if i do i do some maha mudra,navi, and a load of a particular higher kriya. the evening is when i practice my full 3 hrish practice. it really just takes discipline. eventually you will see the value in your sadhana. it'd be like not brushing your teeth or using deodorant . |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| AYP Public Forum |
© Contributing Authors (opinions and advice belong to the respective authors) |
|
|
|
|
Dissapointed, I don't do pranayama or yoga anymore
