How to take your Yoga off your mat

The lessons we learn on our yoga mats are far more than a routine set of physical postures and breathing techniques. These lessons teach us: about ourselves, how to treat ourselves, how to respond in new ways to that which confronts us, and how to be more present. In effect, these lessons teach us how to live our lives. All that we learn on the mat in yoga class can be infiltrated into every corner of our lives, thereby opening ourselves up to increased health and happiness on a day-to-day basis.

Here are a few ways to live your yoga off your mat:

• Embrace self-acceptance
• Just be – observe the beauty in all things
• Stop struggling and practice acceptance – accept each moment as it is
• Keep moving through it and remember it will pass
• Wherever you go offer the gift of a smile, compliment, or encouraging word
• Accept everything you receive with gratitude
• Where possible be of service to others…
• …but not at a disservice to yourself
• Express your unique talents and share them with others
• Practice responsible decision making, contemplating (and owning) the consequences of your choices
• Eat consciously
• Enjoy every moment that life has to offer (and let go of the outcome)
• Let go of the need to control – become content with uncertainty, be open to possibilities, and cultivate curiosity
• Be realistic about the time you have available and rather do less with more zest
• Know that you’re allowed to say “no” – look after yourself first
• Practice patience with yourself and others
• Practice love and kindness to yourself and others
• Say it with love
• If you need it, ask for help
• When you’re struggling to balance, put one foot down
• Practice courage
• Remember to breathe