It’s March Already | How are your New Years Yoga Goals Going?
New Years Resolutions. Resolutions. New Year New You. Goals. New Dreams. New Year. AHHHHHHHHHHHH these words can be hugely motivating or totally overwhelming. Some people love them and some people hate them! Where do you fall? Do New Years Resolutions / New Year Goals work for you or work against you?
Now that it’s March, it’s a good time to reflect on the whole concept of New Years Resolutions and to also reflect on any ‘new year new me’ goals we’ve set for ourselves.
We see a lot of fantastic motivated people come into the studio with new intentions and new goals. Although this happens all year around, the volume is definitely higher at the beginning of the year – and we absolutely LOVE to support each and every person to achieve their goals, whatever they are!
We observe some people fall easily into a routine and sometimes we see others find it a bit harder. Don’t worry…. we aren’t judging, we know that life gets the in the way, priorities change, things come up, and sometimes those goals can feel impossible to meet. And we get it. We really really do.
But since we are always so keen to help, we thought we would share some of our best tips, our observations that we have seen work, to help you stick to and achieve your yoga goals. Whether it’s March, January or whenever, you might like to revisit this list when you need a yoga routine reality check ☺
- Check your Yoga Goals were and still are REALISTIC. Sometimes when we look back or review goals that we have set, they can seem ridiculous or unachievable. Sometimes this can make us feel really de-motivated or feel like a failure or that we aren’t good enough. The people we see succeed work hard to remove that negative language and thoughts! It’s so important to be kind to yourself. You may not realize that it’s actually normal for a goal to be not quite perfect when you first set it, and for it to need to be reviewed (up or down) to find the ideal level. At the end of the day, every step forward is a good thing right?
- Check you’ve got the right mix in there. Sometimes when we set new goals we set the bar pretty high. Well done us! but sometimes it’s a bit too …specific and we need to work up to that level of intensity or similar. For example, your goal may have been 4 Power Yoga classes each week! Great goal! But for whatever reason (maybe the timetable or your energy levels or something else) perhaps 4 power yoga classes seems difficult to achieve and that restriction to ‘power’ means you are only making it once a week. So, mix it up and change it! Make it more general to something like‘4 yoga session’s per week, and throw in a Yin Yoga, or a Yoga Flow, or even some self practice at home (which means doing yoga on your own from memory at home) and remind yourself that at the end of the day, any movement is good for you and it doesn’t always need to look ‘perfect’. It’s also good to do a bit of self reflection and work out why it is and isn’t working for you. Is it the intensity, the timetable, the routine and adjust it accordingly.
- Make your Yoga Goals visible. Have you got them written down? Are they stuck on the fridge? Do you get to tick or cross something off each day, each week, etc? How many people have you told? There’s a saying “What gets talked about gets done” and another one “What gets seen gets focused on”. There are probably a lot more sayings like that, but you probably get the jist! Tell someone! Tell us if you want! We’ll celebrate each time we see you! Or write it down, look at it every day and do something to personally celebrate the little and big wins as you check it off!
- Get some Yoga/Goal Buddies! Don’t you think that everything just seems that bit easier when you aren’t doing it on your own? Perhaps you could find a friend to bring along to yoga or alternatively make a friend at your yoga studio. Someone who you can chat to, laugh with, or at least know you are going to see that smile when you ‘don’t feel like going’. We know it’s not always easy to be brave and introduce ourselves to new friends, so at Yoga Everyday Stafford we are often trying to introduce people so that there are always a few friendly faces around. Oh and don’t forget that friendly face can be us!!! We promise that you will always get a smile from your teacher and the receptionist and if you want to chat we are always keen! We have built a welcoming space where you can chill out and have at chat, or sit in your quiet stillness if you want to.
Regardless of what goals you set as the clock struck midnight on the 1st January, you always have the opportunity to restart and reset. It doesn’t matter what day it is, what time it is and you certainly don’t need anyone to tell you it’s time for a New You.
So come along and just do some yoga. Just do it for you. Do it because it will make you feel great. With or without specific goals you’ll always be welcome and we promise you’ll start to feel the amazing benefits of yoga and those benefits will go from a ‘goal’ to a ‘need’ in no time.
And sure, the more you come, the better you’ll feel…. but at the end of the day….any yoga is good yoga … so just get your butt here!
By here we mean: Unit 1, 39 Hayward Street Stafford. Yoga Everyday Stafford is a not-so-new-anymore yoga studio at Stafford, focused on making yoga accessible to everyone. We welcome everybody, background and experience level and can’t wait to see you at the studio soon.
