Why Start Your Day With Yoga?

Here we are right smack in the middle of life — with head-strong teenage children, aging parents, crisis-ridden siblings, and down-trodden friends. Every day we wake up to another challenging surprise. In the words of Rumi, “Who can stand in this wind?”

We all need a reprieve from this chaos. A practice that helps you feel centered every day will help you find that reprieve. A little meditation, a single yoga pose, or a moment of focusing on the breath can be the saving activities of your day.

The art of centering is an ongoing dialogue. Though in some life situations centering seems like a futile experiment, it is nonetheless an invaluable ritual. Beginning your day with a yoga practice sets up the possibility of being close to your center, which is peace. Letting peace be the foundation for your actions and observations in the world can be an essential tool to surviving a crisis — and maybe turning a crisis into an opportunity.

Still, after 27 years of practice, both my wife, Colleen, and I sometimes forget to utilize all our yoga tools. We have to encourage each other to roll out of bed and onto the mat some mornings. Taking time for our practice results in giving us more resilience and more energy to deal with all that comes to our door.

Practice, practice, practice … so when the storm comes you can fly right into the eye of the hurricane.

Namasté,

Rodney Yee