Yoga sounds like a great idea. Until Tuesday. Until your boss gives you a last-minute project. Until your child needs two dozen cupcakes the next morning. Is yoga for busy people even possible?
You have the best intentions. You check the schedule, pick a few classes, and tell yourself that this is the week. You may even book the class. Inevitably, life throws you a curveball. Once again, you tell yourself, “Next week. Definitely.”
This is totally normal. For most people, the struggle isn’t wanting to do yoga; the struggle is finding the time when work and family have other ideas. When life gets in the way, crashing on your couch at the end of the night may be all you can manage.
Luckily, yoga isn’t a practice that demands perfection. You don’t need a perfect routine. You need a routine that can survive a busy week. You should have the flexibility to change your yoga schedule when life demands it.
Consistency isn’t daily
Many people feel quietly pressured to do things the “right way.” To them, that means showing up to the same class three or four times a week, ready to execute a perfect warrior pose. This sounds great in theory, but it isn’t realistic.
Consistency isn’t about perfection. It doesn’t have to mean attending daily classes.
It can mean:
- Coming back after a week you missed
- Picking a class at a time that you can attend week after week
- Doing online classes instead
- Booking something realistic instead of ambitious
- Giving yourself grace to change your scheduled class
Long-term yogis usually aren’t the ones with the most free time. They’re the ones who stopped waiting for life to calm down and started working their classes into the time they have.
What a real week of yoga for busy people can look like
Want to know what yoga for busy people looks like? These are some of the real patterns we see. These are just a few of the things that work best for our attendees:
The busy professional
- An evening class during the week.
- An occasional Saturday morning when they have time and energy.
- A calendar reminder that blocks the time before something else comes up.
The parent or caregiver
- One class when their kids are at school.
- An evening class during holiday breaks or lighter weeks.
- Cancels class when something else comes up.
The schedule-changes-every-week person
- No strict plan. They come when they can.
- They check the schedule on Sunday.
- They sign up for one or two classes that fit their schedule that week.
None of these people are doing yoga wrong. They’re simply practicing yoga for busy people: showing up when they can and adjusting as their lives change. And, that is okay.
Small ways to make yoga for busy people easier
If you’re trying to make yoga a habit:
- Sign up for one class that fits your schedule the best.
- Start with your favorite type of yoga.
- Schedule classes early in the week.
- Meet a friend for coffee before or after class.
- Come to class even when that little voice tells you to stay home.
You don’t need the most energy to take a class. Some of the best classes happen when you almost didn’t come. Yes, sometimes the couch will win. That doesn’t erase everything you’ve built.
Yoga works when it works for you!
You don’t have to be the perfect person who builds your schedule around your yoga classes. One class a week is enough to experience progress. You can feel stronger. You can breathe deeper.
If you’re figuring out where yoga could fit into your week, here’s a good place to start: take a look at our class schedule and see what feels realistic right now.
