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| Does anyone else ever get unmotivated to do yoga? It seems the past couple weeks I push myself to do it, or slacked off some days. What do you do to curb this? |
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| TOTALLY!
I get into ruts that last a couple days to a week or two. About a week or two ago I was feeling fat, frumpy, and like I couldn't do ANYTHING. Even when I talked myself into going, everything just felt OFF. I skipped a few classes and then was able to talk myself into going to a couple restorative/beginner classes. (I usually do Ashtanga) That helped, but it is frustrating.
I would suggest just getting out your mat and just spending some time on it...not doing any poses, just breathing. I know when I get in a "funk" I become "disconnected" from yoga and almost hide from it because I feel guilty. If I just unroll my mat and sit on it I start to re-connect again and the desire begins to creep back. |
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| Ohhhhh yeah, we've all been there (or are there right now with you!) 
It can get to be too much of a good thing, like brownies or sleep (my personal favorites!). It's hard to be in the middle of it, but it will pass. One thing I've found to be helpful is to take a couple days/practices off - usually after that my body is craving it and I can't wait to get back to class...Trying out a new teacher or style can help as well. And sometimes the best thing to do is to just keep on practicing until you feel right again - might be one class, might be 10.
Good luck getting through the spell - it can be rough...But yoga is always there for you to come back to, just like a good friend. (May I apologize for the sentimental metaphor? Finals have me a bit un-me-ish)  |
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| FamousLadyJane - 2005-04-12 8:18 AM
Does anyone else ever get unmotivated to do yoga? It seems the past couple weeks I push myself to do it, or slacked off some days. What do you do to curb this?
This is quite obvious Jane,., we are over motivated or unmotivated some times..
For me what I do is., when I’m not motivated, I look at a nice yoga book with lovely poses. it works for me.. Just try that and see it might work for you too..
when you do a hard pose properly, reward yourself., you may buy a gift for yourself , a book or something..
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | FamousLadyJane - 2005-04-11 9:18 PM
Does anyone else ever get unmotivated to do yoga? It seems the past couple weeks I push myself to do it, or slacked off some days. What do you do to curb this?
I say don't put any energy into the Unmotivated part. Another words, don't feel guilty, don't feel bad, just honor yourself where you are and what you are doing in this PRESENT MOMENT. Go bake a cake, play games with your children and enjoy your life. I feel the reason we get so unmotivated is because we really do have a life outside of yoga, children, kids, running a home and some like me have a business. We don't realize how much we actually do or not do on a daily basis, some of us are just plain stressed out to the point where its hard to think about doing anything physical, including yoga asana's. We forget that in order to have some sanity, we must balance EVERYTHING. This includes having a simple moment without doing ANYTHING, just sitting in a comfortable chair drinking a cup of chai, or reading a nice book. So, when your feeling balanced and comfortable, you'll be back on the mat in no time and happier because you didn't deprive yourself of important things that needed to be done - that distraction in itself is not good for a yoga practice. When your thinking too much, it makes you become unmindful to your practice and could cause you to do the asana improperly...not very good.
One more thing, if you were living in India or Nepal, the life is totally different, you don't have as many distractions and a fast paced way of life - it is more laid back and usually you don't have to be burdened down with ALL the workload like we do here in America. If I were there without my life here, I think I could march over to an ashram and do my practice every day, with no worries about kids, a business, cars needing repaired, home needing painted..the list goes on. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | After I re-read what I wrote...I realized that I wrote "we really do have a life outside of yoga". That is not correct...Yoga is not outside of our lives, it is a part of our lives, it is our life. So, having that said, I really mean to say that we have other things going on as a part of our Yoga Practice - LIFE, which is externally. Whereas doing meditation, asana's or whatever is internal, at least for me it is. By doing any yoga practice, whether it be by doing japa, meditation, asana's, they help me be better at my external Yoga Life, if you will. Everything I wrote after that still applies.
Also, as we get older and our children grow up and move on to college and have their families, we will have more time to practice our Asana's...won't that be fun. We just have to prepare ourselves and make sure we are fit and able NOT old and feeble, when that time comes. Otherwise, you will have to wish that in your next life you can start earlier by being born as one of those Indian or Nepalis Yogi's that sit on the streets with their looong hair, smoking their pipes and meditating  |
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| I love that suggestion Cyndi! I'm glad to hear so many others get unmotivated as well. When I have been unmotivated, its usually because my to-do list has gotten so long and yoga just becomes one more thing that I don't have time for. The last thing I want to do is resent having to do my yoga practice! So, I cut back on my activities, often including yoga. I've found, eventually yoga always calls back to me - whether through my own need to practice or through a friend asking advice, or a request for a new class. Somehow it always calls me home!
The beautiful thing about yoga is that there's always something you can do, no matter how long it's been or how out-of-shape I've gotten. Yoga never judges me, never makes me feel bad, it's just always there for me no matter what. |
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| Cyndi, that was the best response ever, exactly what I needed to here. Thankyou. (I hope I do come back as a long haired pipe smoking meditating yogi. lol) |
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| I suffered from the same lack of motivation recently, and I guess I just worked through it... though I'm not back to doing my CDs at home, I'm not slacking off or skipping classes anymore.Ofcourse, I don't have the monetary excuse anymore since DH bought me an unlimited yearly shala card!!!! |
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| FamousLadyJane - 2005-04-12 12:07 PM ...(I hope I do come back as a long haired pipe smoking meditating yogi. lol)
I want to come back as a hippopotamus. They are the coolest animals on earth--they are so cool they don't swim, rather strut along the bottom of the rivers--AND, they can make hamburger out of crocodiles.
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| Bruce, you of all people should know how to deal with it! Just stop being a cry-baby, play the good soldier and get over it, man! 
Jus kiddin, I think a lack of motivation comes quite natural from time to time. And skipping a few classes will do no harm. As long as it's done consciously! Yesterday for example I felt fat, old and tired, so I ditched class. Knowing exactly that that's when one needs some yoga most urgently, I decided to not go to class nevertheless - and not feel guilty about it!!! So I could spend the rest of the evening without feeling bad and was able to really enjoy my time-out. Luckily today the crisis was over already and I hardly could wait to leave the house for class. And guess what, it was a good session, not perfect or groundbreaking but enjoyable and satisfying. I'm even thinking about trying to meditate a bit later... |
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| I know what you mean, for about what a week or week and a half now, i havent done my normal morning practice due to this nasty lil cold ive had. Today though I did warrior II and a half moon pose. But that was about all i could force my mind to do, funny cuz I felt like I really needed to do some yoga just yesterday. My head has been so stuffy and my body has felt so achy and miserable its just seemed like it would overstrain my entire being to try to assemble myself into asanas, who knows maybe thats just what i need to get myself feeling better. I dunno, Im considering going to a class tomorrow morning but I dunno if thats gonna be to much of a strain to jump right in again especially with this cold....but its been rainy out here for the past 3 days straight and im sure the cloudy days have put a damper ( haha i made a funny ) on my mentality.
Im gonna try to start doing just maybe a Sun Salutation at least with a triangle and warrior II's tomorrow whether i hit up classtime or not. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
 
Location: A Blue State |
That Hippo is TOTALLY COOL. If I were him, I'd have the additional challenge of not
beating the sh!t out of the crocodiles in my life. Still, it makes a nice daydream. Hippos
don't practice ahimsa, either. 
Motivation can be overcome by habit. Set a time for practice everyday, and then go
practice at that time. The practice will define itself. If you have low energy, it may
just be sitting, foreward bends and headstand. But at least you will do something
and you will maintain the discipline of daily practice.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| I allow myself the odd bad attitude day for practice but rarely skip class - mostly I'm too cheap to skip class! Three of us often carpool to class which is nice because one will often motivate the other to go.
Sideshow - I'm having sinus trouble now, too. Is it one of those internet viruses I've heard so much about?  I actually have fluid behind my ear so balance is tricky and hearing is not so great on that side. Not bad enough for drugs yet according to the doc so I did a ton of twists and inversions tonight. Halasana while holding the big toes is a nice release usually but didn't do a thing for me today. You have my sympathy but I would vote that you should go to class, even if it is to do a separate restorative practice. |
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| Another method I've tried when this happens is to tell myself I'm just going to do a couple rounds of surya namaskar at home. That almost always leads to "oh, well, since I'm not really up for a whole practice I'll just do one more pose", which repeats itself until I've "accidently" practiced for about an hour or so. Ooops!
Just another thought - I've noticed that I tend to get really unmotivated when I become too attached to my practice. As soon as I start to think that I need to practice to stay in touch with that balance and steadiness in my life I rebel. That's where taking off a class or two helps me the most - I realize that I don't NEED it to be ok, but I WANT it because it's so much fun. It loses some of that to-do list quality and becomes a reward (for lack of a better word) it itself just to practice. |
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| The hippo rocks!!! Where did you get that picture?
Whenever I avoid practicing because I don't feel up to it, I always feel silly after I get back to it. I always realize I would have felt better much sooner if I had kept practicing the whole time. Funny how I get amnesia the next time I don't feel well though! |
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| I'm a hippo admirer from way back Jean--got a photo collection--my daughter even got me a hippo Chirstmas ornament one year. |
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Unmotivated
