Yoga Tips #2: Consistency

Yoga Tips #2: Consistency

This may be the most important ingredient in any yoga practice….

As part of this month’s Yoga Tips Challenge, here we explore the all-important point of consistency.

There is one very, very important reason why consistency is so key. The reason is that the body’s inherent tendency is to degrade or crudify. That means that if we do nothing at all – neither good, nor bad – then we become more stiff and more constricted. And, over time, we become more habituated to that compromised status. That becomes our new normal. The way to combat this phenomenon is with a regular yoga practice. That allows us to again bring our bodies into their more full state of expression, in terms of flexibility, range of motion, balance, and strength. And we can even improve upon those qualities as well. So on the physical plane, a regular yoga practice is an integral element to good health and fitness.

But it does not end there. Because that same tendency to degrade applies to the mental sphere as well, both psychically and psycho-spiritually. Goading the mind externally takes no effort; the mind naturally runs after crude physicality. That is why a materialistic approach to life is such an easy sell. But in the process, the mind becomes more dull and more extroverted. It loses its elasticity, freedom, and depth. Withdrawing the mind from external physicality and opening its inner doors of perception towards a more subtle understanding takes a bit of work. Yet that is where our well-being lies. And the physical postures of yoga and meditative endeavors of yoga both guide the mind towards that more subtle and sublime dimension. That is to say, by those practices the mind becomes more calm, composed, centered, and balanced.

The more time that goes by the more difficult it becomes the restore both body and mind to its premium condition. Whereas with a regular yoga practice, both body and mind will readily achieve that more refined status. And while the physical body has its inherent limitations, the mind has an almost infinite ability to expand. A regular yoga practice enables the body to maintain its youthfulness and vigor, and with a disciplined approach towards meditation the mind will continue to become more subtle and attain greater states of peace and tranquility.

For all these reasons and more, consistency is arguably the most important aspect to any yoga practice.