Can you commit to 5 minutes per day to change your life? Can you commit just 5 minutes per day to yoga? Now I’m not saying you have to contort yourself into pretzel like shapes during that time…
But can you choose a time of day … Preferably morning but whenever works for you and SCHEDULE 5 minutes for your daily yoga practice?
These are rhetorical questions 😉
Now you may not know what to do or how to start so here are some ways you can spend your 5 minutes … Try one or mix it up!
1. Choose to Breathe.
Yep that’s it. Just take 5 minutes to focus on your breath. Simply breathe in and out and pay attention to your breath. If you want some other cool breath exercises (pranayama)… Check out my YouTube channel for some guided breath work… Button below. I’m not kidding, taking 5 minutes a day to breathe will change your life! Try it-especially if you don’t believe me.
2. Feel your body.
Use this time to take your mind out of your thoughts and to avert your attention to your body. Do a body scan… Starting at your feet, work your way up your body and just notice what is going on. How do your different body parts feel? Is anything stiff or hurting? Is one side tighter than the other? It’s amazing how disconnected we are from our bodies the majority of the time and how choosing to spend some time focusing on how we feel physically often surprises us… I didn’t even know my neck was tight?!
3. Stretch your body.
Gently stretch your body.
4. Move your body.
Same thing … Move your body. Part of it… All of it.. Just spend your five minutes consciously moving your body and paying attention to it as you do so.
5. Be mindful.
Get completely present to these five minutes. Forget about what happened before for right now. Don’t think about what you have to do after the five minutes. Just commit these 5 minutes to being completely present to whatever is happening in you and your environment. Listen to the sounds in you and surrounding you. Feel the temperature of the air on your skin. Feel any breeze or the stillness. Taste. See. Smell. Feel. Breathe.
6. Meditate.
There are so many different ways to meditate. Try a guided mediation (see my YouTube channel or other online guided meditations) or any other type. Meditation is not about NOT THINKING but it is about not clinging and attaching to your thoughts. This for me is the most challenging part of my personal yoga practice and I catch myself telling whole stories and playing out complete conversations and scenarios… And then I catch myself and go back to being present. When thoughts come in.. And you catch yourself somewhere else… Notice it and think of your thoughts like clouds passing across the sky. Let them pass and come back to your mediation. Reset … Even if you need to do this hundreds of times during your five minutes!!! It is a practice and you will see a difference from day to day.
I promise you, just 5 minutes per day will make a difference. So try it for this month and share your experiences in the comments. ❤️
In good health,
