by Elin Sandberg: Start your day with an early yoga practice…

There is no other time during the day when you are so still and peaceful in your mind as you are in the morning. If you start your day a bit earlier, to go to your mat for a long or short practice, you will definitely have another experience than if you do your practice later.  Even if it feels much more nice to stay in your warm and cozy bed for another snooze when your alarm rings early, you will be happy with your decision later during the day, and you will probably feel more energized after some yoga than you would do after another snooze. Your body might be stiffer if you go straight from your bed to the mat, but your mind will for sure be a lot calmer.

Switch of your telephone

Your yoga time, is your time for yourself. Make yourself on disconnected from other things so you can fully connect with yourself without letting anything disturb you. Even more important if you practice in a class – don’t disturb the other students, and hopefully they wont disturb you!

Make a nice space and setting

Before you start your practice, make sure to set a nice space and setting. Light a candle, an incense or make another setting that you prefer. This little act will make your yoga feel more sacred, even if you don’t do it for a religious cause. Make this little act be an act of stillness, to focus and to tune into your state of awareness. If you keep up doing the same routine before every practice, tuning in to your yoga mode will come more naturally and easily, it will also be easier to take your yoga state out of the mat and keep it closer to your state of being during the day.

Take mirrors away

Mirrors are a great tool when you want to practice techniques and alignment, but when you want to take your practice to a deeper level, take mirrors away. Mirrors easily makes you focus more about how things look like, instead of how the actually feel.

Practice in silence

During most time of our everyday life, we are surrendered with noises and music. When you go to a class, usually there is some background music. There is tons of nice yoga music, and music can be a great tool to make a nice setting for yoga, but also try some times to practice in silence. Let your breath guide you, and notice the difference in your mind state when you do this. In silence, it is easier to concentrate and go deeper into yourself and your body. Feel your body in the poses, connect with yourself, the internal stuff. This is easier done in silence – if you haven’t tried, try!

Always take your time

practice yoga when you want to yoga – not when you for any reason think you have to practice yoga. Don’t practice yoga when you are in a hurry, make sure you give yourself time to start and end your practice soft and smoothly and always take your time in savasana without needing to think about what to do next. Try to take things in a slow and easy way at least 30 minutes after your practice.
If you go to a class, try to arrive at the class at least 5-10 minutes before it starts. Spend some minutes with yourself to put yourself together, do some stretch or take a short savasana. Don’t make any appointments straight after your class, or try to catch a bus or make it to any other meeting. When you finish the class – its actually where the real yoga starts.