I did yoga today for the first time in about a week. One of the reasons that I have not been doing it is because of my dog. I don't like doing yoga with her around because she is always getting in my way (and she doesn't have a very good downward facing dog pose). Lame excuse.
Here are some ways I am going to work on getting better at getting back into my yoga routine.
Get up earlier than my dog. That means I need to go to bed earlier at night. I need to eliminate any distractions after dinner to make sure I go through my evening routine so I can get to bed early. My evening routine mostly consists of visiting with my wife and kids, some writing, yoga nidra for relaxation and then reading before bed. Eliminating screens after dinner is the key to this
· Keep her off the mat if she is already up. She will get on the mat and lick me or scratch herself while I am trying to get into a pose. This morning I was getting into a low lunge while she was underneath me and she didn’t like that. She quickly scrambled under my legs and off the mat.
· The other thing holding me back is turning on my computer. I have been using YouTube on my computer for yoga videos. It takes a long time for my computer to fire up and that holds me back. Another lame excuse-I know. I used my phone and the YouTube app there for the yoga video this morning and that was fine.
· I can’t see. My excuse here is that unless my contact lenses are in I can’t exercise. I did not put them in this morning and did the yoga anyway. I tried to see the screen and mostly listened and was able to do the right poses without having to look at the screen too much. The only time I was unsure was during goddess pose. Even though I couldn’t really see I was able to make out enough of the screen to make sure I was in the right pose.
So this brings an end to my excuses. I have poked holes in all of them and I still love my dog. I plan to continue my regular routine. I like to do yoga in the morning because it stretches out my body and that helps me throughout the day. I also feel better physically and mentally when I do it in the morning.
