I did it! Why my daily yoga’s here to stay

In my «I did it!» series, I try out healthy habits for a week. Many of them cost me quite some effort initially. Getting started’s always the hardest part. And yet, in hindsight, I’ve never regretted doing it and have realised starting a new habit is easier than expected. This week, however, I’m not struggling in the slightest. In fact, I can’t wait for my yoga week to start and suspect I’ll keep going after seven days.

Day 1: starting the day with yoga

I’ve done the odd yoga session before – alone at home with a video or together with a friend who’s a yoga teacher. Although I enjoyed every single session, I don’t get round to it often enough. That’s about to change, as I’m starting a week of daily yoga. Motivated and full of anticipation, I start with a morning session on day 1 and do a 30-minute routine.

I kick off my week with a video by MadFit. This channel has over nine million subscribers and offers a wide variety of content. I know some of the videos already. For day 1, I choose a 20-minute morning yoga session.

When the video’s over, I’m surprised and check the time. Wow, I was so absorbed that those 20 minutes felt a lot shorter. Immediately afterwards, I feel well stretched, relaxed and in a great mood. It was definitely worth it. This light feeling and inner calm carry me through the rest of the day. My conclusion after day 1? Doing yoga in the morning is a smart decision. It’s a gentle start and the benefits last throughout the rest of the day.

Day 2: noticeable tension relief

After my positive experience from day 1, I can’t wait for day 2. However, I’m not feeling calm enough right after getting up, as I’m keen to hit the desk first thing. So I move my yoga session to lunchtime. I must have slept in a weird position the previous night, as my neck feels slightly tense. Yoga exercises are just the right thing to get rid of that unpleasant feeling. At lunch, I do a 30-minute session and the calm, flowing movements make my neck feel much better.

Day 3: yoga with Charlie

The great thing about doing yoga with video instructions is the huge choice of teachers. Today, I’m giving a new yoga teacher a go – Charlie Follows. I like her calm nature. She also guides you so well by speaking that you don’t need to stare at the screen all the time. In my opinion, that’s often the problem with video tutorials. You’re supposed to focus on your body and the flow of movement. That’s tricky if you’re forced to keep looking at the screen to see what the teacher’s demonstrating. With this video, I can close my eyes and let the movements flow. Again, the stretching releases all pain and tension in my muscles and tendons for the rest of the day.

Day 4: loving the habit

That was fast – my yoga session’s already become an integral part of my daily routine. Once again, I spend my lunch break doing gentle exercises for half an hour. I try a new video, but cut it short after a few minutes. What I really appreciate about workout videos is getting in the way here: the next exercise being displayed half a minute beforehand in a small window. Then a countdown starts, announcing the next exercise with a piercing beep. That interrupts my yoga flow. I switch off the video and put some calming music on in the background. That’s better.

Day 5: centred and relaxed

I’m also starting to notice a positive effect on my overall well-being. It’s a subjective impression, of course, which may also have to do with my hopeful expectations. Is the daily yoga making me feel better or is it a placebo effect? Well, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter as long as I feel better. Fact is, this short daily session definitely helps me feel more grounded. In addition to the mental effect, I also notice less pain and tension in my body. The stretching really pays off. My neck is relaxed – that alone is a gift!

Day 6: outdoor yoga

The sun’s shining today and I’m drawn outside. I look for a quiet spot in the half shade and do a freestyle session without instructions. I know enough āsanas (body postures) that I can simply let the movements flow intuitively. Being outdoors with birdsong and the wind blowing through the leaves makes it even easier to switch off and I don’t want to stop after half an hour. With sun salutations, downward-facing dog, cobra, warrior and the like, however, I only cover a small part of the original Indian yoga philosophy, as is often the case in western forms of yoga. Breathing exercises (pranayama), meditation and mantras are also part of it. And because I find it hard to stop today, I add a short meditation.

Day 7: my daily dose of yoga is here to stay

The week flew by and today I’m really enjoying every second of my yoga time. I’m taking a whole hour, starting with breathing exercises, going over to 40 minutes of physical exercises and ending on a meditative relaxation session. I’ll definitely keep doing yoga. At least that’s my firm intention, as I have nothing but good things to say about it after a week of daily yoga.

My conclusion: grounded, flexible, relaxed

• Overall, I feel calm and centred.
• After a week, there’s no tension or pain in my body.
• Little investment, much return: all I need is my yoga mat. I roll it out and am ready to go.
• The stretching exercises have improved my flexibility and agility.
• I’ve been full of energy and less tired this week.

My experience from the previous «I did it!» weeks has shown that I’m able to turn pleasant and beneficial activities into habits. It always started with the trial week and I often kept the activity up – the morning lemon water, the back exercises or the power napping, for instance. After a while, when my focus shifted to something else, I usually kept doing it, just not as frequently. With yoga, I’ll try to keep up the daily session (with a few exceptions, of course) even after this week, as it’s definitely beneficial for my overall well-being.