I’ve been practicing yoga for about 12 years. I say this not to impress you, but because I want to establish how long yoga and I have enjoyed a healthy relationship. Of course, by now, you’d think I’d be really bendy and flexible, but I am not. I’m not “advanced”. On the contrary, I feel rather beginner immediate.
This is because I never went to classes, didn’t study under some guru or tried to really improve. I know the latter seems odd, but the reason why I do yoga is because I enjoy it and I find it a gentle way to stretch and release tension from my body. I practice yoga at home, in the morning. I don’t wear cute yoga clothes and my yoga mat is pitted because my former cats Romeo and Pippin used it as a scratching pad.
So, while I’m not particularly flexible, I still try to not be stiff. The idea of being stiff, I equate to hardness and old age.
TAO TE CHING – Chapter 76.
A newborn is soft and tender,
A crone, hard and stiff.
Plants and animals, in life, are supple and succulent;
In death, withered and dry.
So softness and tenderness are attributes of life,
And hardness and stiffness, attributes of death.Just as a sapless tree will split and decay
So an inflexible force will meet defeat;
The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above.
One of the interesting things I’ve noticed when I do yoga is what my mind does. Sometimes I use the time to think about what I’m grateful for. Other times, I try to focus on what my body needs. And best of all is when I don’t think about anything. This is usually when ideas seem to come rushing in. I get a lot writing ideas when my mind is quiet.
I think it helps that I practice my sun salutations in the morning when my mind is fresh. When I used to go on long solitary walks, I noticed this phenomenon as well, so I had to learn to carry a pen and notebook around. Yeah, kind of a hassle. But when I’m at home, it’s easy to just stop what I’m doing and jot down the ideas that are coming to me.
As I’m trying to craft and create a better morning routine, I want writing, yoga and meditation to be my anchors that set my day off the best way possible.
When do you find quiet time? Do you find these times to be helpful for your writing or brainstorming? Share here so I can steal. Hahahhaa. Just kidding. Sort of.
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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