Self Motivated Yoga Styles

Of all the forms of physical activity popular today, Yoga requires the most commitment. For some individuals, this can be difficult with the way that our society has changed.

In the workplace, society is shifting to quantity rather than quality. In other words, many managers today tend to require that more work be completed in an hour than they used to.

Yet, individuals that regularly practice self motivated yoga are unfazed. They remain positive and know that the benefits of setting an hour a day aside to simply relax and promote their fitness far outweigh the costs of losing an hour that they could use to catch up on house work or projects for work.

This style uses the same equipment as other approaches to yoga and the type of health benefits (aerobic, strength, flexibility, etc.) depend largely on the poses and movements being performed. The major benefit of this style however, are related to the mind.

Individuals with a regimented and consistent approach to life is exactly what this style of yoga is designed for. Meticulous yoga routines are intended to strengthen several aspects of a individual's life by maintaining a positive approach to the idea of setting and meeting goals.

Normally practiced alone, self motivated yoga focuses on setting goals, meeting them, and remaining consistent. Use a self motivated approach to yoga as you study in another style and you will quickly begin to see results. In fact, 80% of people that study yoga in some form say that being self motivated is one of the most important parts to studying the art.

Staying Motivated

Try this experiment at the beginning of the week:

Take out your calendar. How many days this week will you participate in Yoga? Mark these days on your calendar and determine exactly which poses you will do and your reasons for doing those poses on those days. At the end of the week, consider how closely you stuck to the plan. On what days, if any, did you not adhere to your plan and why? How can you do better next week?

During the next week set a specific goal based on your performance during the first week. Design your plan this week to meet your goal and evaluate your performance based on how closely you met your goal.

Did you come very short of your goal? Maybe you are setting too high of a goal. Did you smash the goal by greatly exceeding it? Perhaps you should set a more aggressive goal next week.

During the third week ask yourself how long you can see yourself continuing in this way. Is this something you can do for the rest of your life? Can you extend your productivity to other aspects of your life? Yoga is not meant to be just another way to get into shape. It is meant to be a way of living a more fulfilling life. Self motivated practitioners of yoga make sure that they always keep this in mind.

The whole purpose behind self motivated yoga is setting goals and meeting them. Actually meeting your goals comes with a sense of accomplishment and self worth, strengthening the mind. Failing to meet goals can still be approached in a positive way as well. Failure is essential to growth and should be dealt with as such. Use a failure to set up an even greater success.

Is Self-Motivated Yoga for You?

In short, absolutely. Motivation is one of the most important aspects of any physical activity. Take strides to stay motivated by setting goals, varying activity, recovering appropriately from mistakes (and allowing yourself to make them) and staying positive. Making motivation a major part of your approach to yoga has nothing but benefits. By staying motivated, you will have a more effective work-out, burn more calories, be more likely to stick to a plan and be successful, and be more prone to mental health benefits such as improved mood and less chance for depression and sleep disorders.

Facts and Statistics

20 people were tested in a 2009 study concerning motivation in physical activity. Half of the group members were asked to exercise for 2 weeks whenever they wanted to, performing 20 minute sessions on a recumbent bike.

The other half were given a specific goal to meet each week and a plan tailored to meet that goal. Although both groups performed the same exercise, the people with the goal registered higher in all categories tested including calories burned per exercise session.

During the same study, 3 out of 5 people who regularly exercise set and adhered to the goals that they set on a consistent basis. Hence, people that regularly set goals have a higher level of focus and direction.

By far, more people practice yoga solely on an individual basis than study solely in a classroom setting. The top 3 reasons were time, money, and embarrassment due to inexperience.

In a recent study, 4 out of 10 physically active people claimed that Yoga was their primary training tool for remaining motivated in activities not related to Yoga. In all, Yoga is an excellent form of exercise and targets both the body and the mind.