Let’s face it; we all have those days where it feels like nothing works. You might have woken up determined to make some serious positive life changes (think regular yoga practice, healthy eating, mindful attitude to work), but by the time lunchtime rolls around you are shoving a tuna sandwich in your mouth while looking at animal memes.
So what are you going to do?
We’ve recently learnt about the Japanese business philosophy of Kaizen – you might not be a Japanese businessperson, but we think that this philosophy is something that can really help your yoga practice. How?
Read on!
What is Kaizen?
Kaizen can be translated as ‘improvement’ but it means more than that basic translation: Kaizen is about continuous change for the better, achieved through making many small steps towards overall improvement.
This actually originated after the Second World War to help restore Japan, so is linked originally to industrial production and growth. Nothing could be further from yoga, right? Well…
How can you apply this philosophy?
The main principle of Kaizen is based around taking small steps so you can gradually reprogramme your brain to make it more accepting of change. It’s about instilling new patterns of behaviour so that change doesn’t seem so overwhelming and daunting.
It’s basically what my mother used to call ‘eating elephants in small bites’. Not that we’re advocating eating elephants, of course!
For example, if you want to learn a new language, instead of setting yourself the challenge of studying for an hour a day, you start by committing to learn one word a day, or study for 5 minutes every day.
Slowly this builds up so that you are taking big steps without even noticing.
How can it help your yoga practice?
If you’re feeling like you are hitting a wall with your yoga practice, think about following the key principles of Kaizen to improve it.
What are these?
- Small steps are easier to handle
Small steps are way less intimidating than big steps. This is often because we are focusing on the huge task ahead that we end up giving up or simply procastinating…. Just take it easy and remember that a long journey starts with one single step. So, instead of trying to master that whole new routine, just focus on a few poses first and keep adding other poses when you are ready 🙂
- Problems create opportunities
Don’t beat yourself up that you still can’t master crow, even though Jane on the mat next to you launches herself into it at every available opportunity. This is a chance to learn something new; focus on your core strength through other asana before going back to crow.
- Correct your mistakes
This is the glorious thing about many types of yoga – they are based on repetition so you have plenty of chances to correct your mistakes. In your next Ashtanga class, rather than thinking ahead to the more advanced postures, think about how you can correct yourself for your next vinyasa.
The joy is in the tiny details, not the ‘big moves’. Enjoy mastering them.
- Any improvement is better than none
While we know that self-correction is important, you don’t want to become a perfectionist, giving yourself a hard time every time you slip up. That’s not the point of yoga.
Small gains lead to big ones, so congratulate yourself each time you get a little closer to nailing that tough pose.
- Don’t just throw money at it
Let’s face it: yoga often isn’t cheap, unless you’re doing it at home. We don’t think this is always a bad thing, if you’re spending money for the right reasons.
Maybe that expensive course really is the best Yin class around; however, if you’re buying pricey gear and shelling out on courses just to make yourself feel good about your practice, it’s not going to end well.
Sometimes cultivating a regular at-home practice is the best way to develop your skills and understanding, and it costs nothing at all.
- Learn from other people
Maybe it’s time to stop secretly hating the seemingly perfect teacher’s pet at the front of the class, and begin to see what you can learn from them. Kaizen principles say that we should get ideas or lessons from everyone and this is totally true for yoga as well.
It’s great to have a guru or teacher you can learn from, but watch and listen to others as well. Who knows, they might reveal an approach you’d never thought about before.
- Think positive
Positive thinking isn’t about blind optimism, but about saying ‘I can’ instead of ‘I can’t’. Over time you’ll inch yourself into an asana that previously seemed impossible.
So start small and you’ll achieve big things (maybe even Destroyer of the Universe post one day, who knows?!).
Namaste.
The yoganum family
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