Now that we’re in a new year, I’m constantly getting approached by strangers and friends alike telling me “I’ll see you in yoga!” and then of course I don’t see them and every time afterwards, when I do see them elsewhere, it’s awkward and they’re like “Oh, I meant to make it but….” or “an hour is a really long time” or “your class is too hard for me” or the most common, “I’m not good at yoga.” Friends! There is NO such thing as being “good” at yoga! It doesn’t exist! Wherever you are in your yoga practice is EXACTLY where you need to be, thus why it is called a yoga “practice!”

Like I’ve said on this here blog before, yoga is more than just a sport. It’s a spiritual practice if you want it to be and it’s a process of self discovery on and off the mat. This is why there’s really no such thing as being “good” at yoga because we are all on different paths to our own inward journey. For me, practice is like taking vitamins or showering, or brushing my teeth. It’s something I stopped thinking about years ago and of course I go through phases where I am extremely inspired and then very bored. One breath at a time right? Showing up on the mat is really half the battle and if you can commit to doing that for at least five minutes a day, you’re well on your way!

5 minutes a day keeps the crazy away! No yoga, No peace!

Yes, I mean it. Five minutes a day is all it takes to start a daily home practice. If you can’t make it to a class or if you’re scared to take that first step, start in the confines of your own home where you are comfortable and feel safe. I find it’s best to just leave your mat out on the floor somewhere so that you will see it and feel a gravitational pull towards it! If you have pets, they will probably also feel the need to lay on it and practice some “doga.” It’s all good! Overtime, you will have developed a “home practice” without even realizing so! It’s a great way to explore poses you don’t get to do enough in class, and practice those poses that you feel unstable and shaky in.

Many students have told me that they don’t know what to do for an hour alone on their mat, and this is why they fall off the practice wagon. My friend and colleague Kino MacGregor thinks that the “expectation that you have to do a full hour long yoga session to get any benefit” is why people give up on daily practice. I couldn’t agree more with her because somedays, we tire of our usual practice, or we feel sick or we just don’t have the time. But getting on the mat for just five minutes is NOT a big expectation. Think about how many times a day you check your phone for no reason and end up losing five to 10 minutes without even knowing it? We’re all guilty of it, seriously we are, but imagine if you spent that five to 10 minutes in meditation instead? Trust me, your world would be better!

That five minutes a day, in time, will help you start “living” yoga, off the mat. You will notice you are calmer, more peaceful and that you want to do more for people by “paying it forward” with your new attitude. I see it happen everyday, like when yoga is over and people are holding the door for one another, or offering to put away someone else’s props, or even just starting up a conversation with a person they don’t know. The yoga rubs off my friends! I have had this one quote written down for years in my journal and although I don’t know who said it, it speaks volumes to me:

Lately, everywhere I turn people seem interested in yoga. “Do you ‘do’ yoga?” they ask. “How long have you being doing yoga? What kind of yoga do you do?” When you start “doing” yoga, you miss it all together. It becomes another pastime, rather than a way of being. Try living yoga, being yoga, and notice the difference between doing and being. 

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So speaking of yoga, I started teaching at a new studio this morning called Yoga Shine. It’s located in Nipomo and there is nothing like it in town! The owner Jesselle has created a fun, warm and beautiful space for the community and with over 30 classes a week offered, there’s sure to be at least one class that fits into your schedule! I teach a beginner Ashtanga Yoga class on Tueadays at 9:45 a.m. so I hope to see you there soon!

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This being the Yummy Yogini and all, I feel bad not leaving you with a new recipe today! I’ve been super busy dog-sitting and such and haven’t had time to create anything “new.” So I’ll end with books instead, okay? I’m currently reading Us by bestselling author David Nicholls, where he artfully unveils 25 years of marriage between a couple who are unsure if they can stay together for another 25. He also wrote One Day, which I loved, and it became a movie starring Anne Hathaway who I don’t really love… just don’t tell her that please!

And because I am and will always be a journalist at heart, I’m listening to Gail Sheehy’s memoir, Daring: My Passages. Sheehy played a part in the “New Journalism” movement in the 1970s, has authored 17 books, and has been a contributing editor for other top name magazines and newspapers too. My favorite of her articles was “The Secret of Grey Gardens,” a cover story from 1972, that brought the bizarre bohemian life of Jackie Kennedy’s aunt Edith Bouvier Beale “Big Edie” and her cousin “Little Edie” to public attention. Her story was the basis for a film, a book and a Broadway musical. The Edie’s were weird women and if you haven’t heard of them already, you should watch the movie!

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I’m dedicating this post today to my step-grandma Norma Jean who passed away this weekend, having lived into her nineties. She was one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met and the pride she felt for her family always made me smile. She lived for my step-dad Gary and when she would come to visit, she would wander around the house asking, “Where’s Gary?” because she wanted him in her sight at all times! She also liked it really warm in the house and she killed a few of our Christmas trees after setting the thermostat to 90 degrees! Norma Jean lived in southern Illinois for all her life and along with her accent, she was always impeccably well dressed, jewelry and all. We were always given gift cards to Nordstrom for Christmas because that’s where the best of the best shopped! She loved to smoke cigarettes even though she swore she “never inhaled” and if she didn’t like something, you’d be the first to know. A woman who tells it like it is, is my kind of woman.

I will miss you Grandma Norma.

Grandma Norma in the photo booth at my wedding! She loved to have a good time!