Taking it off the mat: How to incorporate yoga into daily life

I have been practicing yoga so long I don’t even remember my first yoga class. It must have been in my late teens or early twenties that I experienced yoga for the first time. I remember those first few classes feeling challenging, but also so rewarding. My body felt open and relaxed and my mind felt clear. I was hooked. I was eager to learn how to incorporate yoga into daily life.

Decades later, I started incorporated yoga into my daily morning routine. Even if I only had 10 minutes, I diligently rolled out my mat, practiced yoga, and followed each session up with a short meditation.

That was eight years ago.

Long before CrossFit, Pilates, Jazzercise, Jane Fonda and Zumba, there was yoga. Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and it’s still as relevant today as it was back then. But it wasn’t until I started digging in to my 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training certification that I realized what we see and think yoga is today, is only one-eighth of what the practice actually is. In fact, evidence from its early years thousands of years ago suggest that yoga wasn’t a physical exercise at all, but a way of life. Because yoga is so much more than a physical form of exercise, there are so many ways to incorporate yoga into daily life.

Yogis of previous centuries weren’t as concerned about physical poses as they were about the lifestyle poses of the practice. At the heart of yoga is a complete system of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that, when practiced often, can lead to healthier, happier lives. Referred to as the eight limbs, the foundation of yoga is still taught today and represents a different aspect of yoga, from ethical principles to physical postures, breath control, and meditation.

Incorporate Yoga into Daily Life with the Yamas, Niyamas, Asanas & Pranayama

1. Yama – The first limb of Yoga focuses on ethical principles, including non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, chastity, and lack of greed. This limb describes how we should interact with others in order to live in harmony and peace with the world around us. Not only can the yamas improve our relationships with others, it can ultimately decrease our own stress, anxiety and loneliness in our lives, resulting in improved mental and physical health.
2. Niyama – The second limb focuses on our relationship with ourselves, and includes concepts such as cleanliness, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, and surrender to a higher power. The Niyama practices help us find and cultivate purpose and meaning to life.
3. Asana – The third limb contains the physical postures we all think of when we think of yoga. These postures help to improve strength, flexibility, and balance in the body, while also calming the mind.
4. Pranayama – The fourth limb is breath control. The breath is considered a powerful life force in yoga, and when you think about it, the breath is confirmation of life itself. Someone once said, if you think breathing isn’t important enough to pay attention to, try not doing it for just one minute. I like to think of breath work as “living in the lungs.” It’s the arbitration room for the heart, body and mind to meet and sometimes come to an agreement, and sometimes agree to disagree. Ultimately, by controlling the breath, we can energize the body, calm the mind, and connect with our inner selves.

Incorporate Yoga into Daily Life with Mindfulness & Meditation (Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana & Samadhi)

1. Pratyahara – The fifth limb involves withdrawal of the senses. Turning our attention inward allows us to detach from external distractions and find deeper focus and concentration. This can be done with meditation.
2. Dharana – The sixth limb involves concentration. Focusing our attention on a single point, such as the breath or a mantra, can quiet the mind, allowing us to experience a sense of inner peace. This can also be achieved with meditation.
3. Dhyana – The seventh limb is meditation. Practicing meditation regularly can cultivate a deeper connection with our true selves, providing a profound sense of unity with the world around us.
4. Samadhi – The eighth and final limb of yoga is enlightenment. This state of pure consciousness is said to be the ultimate goal of the practice, though it is not something that can be achieved through effort alone.

Using these principles to incorporate yoga into daily life

These eight limbs provide a roadmap for living a more peaceful, purposeful life. Using these principles, we can incorporate yoga into daily life, improving compassion, self-awareness, and connection with ourselves and others. In a world often characterized by stress, anxiety, and disconnection, yoga offers a powerful antidote. Practicing yoga and focusing on the limbs regularly also allows us to manage our emotions, reduce stress, and find balance. This is what yogis call “doing yoga off the mat.”

By taking yoga off the mat, the benefits can extend far beyond ourselves, creating a more compassionate and harmonious world. Imagine a world full of people focusing on the yamas by treating others with kindness, practicing honesty and integrity. How much calmer would we be if we also cultivated a sense of inner peace by practicing niyama regularly?

How yoga has changed me

After eight years of practicing, I am still not an expert. But what I do know to be true is I am much nicer to myself today. I can move between thoughts and emotions quicker, allowing me to have a better handle on my temper. I breathe deeper and feel more empathy toward others. Also, I treat my body well as if my life depended on it — because it does. I speak my truth more and understand my personal boundaries better. I see I am still a work in progress, but I also see the distance I’ve come.

Through the practice of yoga, we can learn to live in a more mindful and intentional way. We can become more attuned to our bodies, our emotions, and our surroundings. We can learn to appreciate the beauty of the world, treating it with the respect and care it deserves.

There’s never been a better time to start exploring the eight limbs of yoga. It’s never too late to discover the profound benefits yoga can bring to your life. And to the world.

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