If already you have not stuck with your New Year’s resolutions, remember they are for the year, not just a month. There’s no reason not to get back on track. Any time you are trying to establish a new habit or change in your life you have to make that mental change along with the physical action. Incorporating yoga or meditation into your life could help your resolutions become realities.

As a Bikram Yoga teacher, I have found that a chemical reaction occurs after a yoga class that can help put one in a better mood and make the mind just a little less cluttered. Anytime you have a clearer mind, you are going to be more effective in your daily life and be able to stay on task of sticking to your goals. I was actually given the best advice about incorporating meditation daily into my overall practice from one of my students, “Do it for only five minutes.” While that may not seem like much, the point she was making was to establish the routine.

It’s the same parallel for me when I get the question from beginning students about how often to come to class. I tell them, “You come as much as you can.” In the first couple of months, it really is important to attend class as much as possible because that’s when a new student experiences the most changes. Eventually the yoga student will figure out what’s right for them depending on their job, family, etc. I would rather see someone come one to three times a week for five to ten years, rather than the person who comes for six times a week for three months, and then I never see them again. It’s about establishing routine and realistic goals for each individual.

So maybe you didn’t make your initial goal of actually going to class six or seven times a week, but perhaps you could have at least done one asana (posture) on those days you were “too busy” at work or just “too tired”. One posture six or seven times a week for five to ten minutes seems so much easier, than six or seven classes in a week. Or is it? Here’s the mental challenge: you have to make your self actually do that one thing! So you only did one thing on those days, but at least mentally you made the effort to do at least something. The old saying is true, “a little effort can go a long way.” Here’s a great example of a posture that you can do daily that can relax you for a moment and reenergize you at the same time when you need your own “time out” and help keep you focused.

Ardha Kurmasana or Half-Tortoise
Start in a “Japanese” style position. Bend knees, heels underneath the buttocks, tops of your feet on a mat or floor. Bring your arms overhead, palms together, just cross your thumbs like a prayer position. Come down to the floor, do not change your hands, and relax the head on the floor. (Knee/Ankle problem modification: start on all fours and then sit back into the position. You can also separate the knees if there is too much pressure on them or if you are pregnant. Your arms should now become very active by making them as straight as possible with the wrists off the ground and you end up on the tips of your pinkies extending across the floor. As you extend your arms, your shoulder blades will lift up allowing your back to relax down. If your head can remain comfortably on the floor you want to bring your chin away from the chest. Hopefully, your hips have been on your heels the entire time, but if not, try to let your hips sink down as low as possible. With the back in a relaxed position you will be able to give it a really nice stretch lengthening it from your coccyx to your cervical vertebrae.

Besides being a very relaxing posture it can be very energizing at the same time. It can also help with indigestion and stretches the lower part of the lungs, which is good for conditions such as emphysema and asthma. It also can increase flexibility in the hip and shoulder joints.

Whatever your resolutions were or are, if you keep it simple and realistic then you are going to gain more and more confidence is accomplishing your goals. That “one thing” can turn into “five or twenty-five things.” Good luck and have a great year!

Jason Ewing teaches at Bikram Yoga Atlanta. Visit www.bikramyogaatlanta.com or call 404-636-7537.

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