Dear christine,

I saw your post and wanted to share a bit of my journey, hoping to also give you some pointers and tips.

Like you, I have also been practicing yoga for many years, and just like anita, I started meditating and practicing mindfulness because my therapist introduced me to it about seven years ago. I have tried several different ways of yoga and meditation, I have attended classes, online and in person, I’ve tried apps, I’ve tried different times of day to practice to see which works best for me, I’ve had and still have times when I can’t seem to get up the energy for yoga, or my monkey mind seems too busy for meditating (which is exactly when you ‘need’ meditation even more…lol).

Due to some physical health issues I currently do not practice yoga (the asanas) as regularly as I used to, but am hoping to get into it again more soon. I used to feel guilty when I didn’t practice, but that is not what yoga is about. Sure, usually when I practice I do feel better after. But there are simply times which don’t allow you to practice. If yoga (or meditation) becomes a chore or something you feel you ‘should’ do, then I think it loses its purpose. Yoga should make you feel better, not worse 😉

Like anita I go for walks twice a day (I have a dog) and those can be very meditative.

I do however also practice Vipassana every morning. It’s the time of day that works best for me. I sort of have that ‘beginner’s mind’, the world is still quiet, it feels good to start the day that way, and to get it ‘done’ (by that I don’t mean that I force myself, but it just feels like I have done something good for myself and my well-being).

For more than two years now I have been using a wonderful app called “Insight Timer” which offers tons of amazing free (as well as paid) guided meditations by meditation teachers from across the world, some of them well known. Or you can just use the timer to meditate by yourself. The app tracks your practice which is a motivation to build and keep up your practice. I love this app and can’t say enough good things about it, I recommend it to all of my friends and family!

It is normal to sometimes feel unmotivated, trust me, I get it! I often feel bad when I read about others who seem to have it all together and do so much more than I do on this journey to our inner selves.

But that’s what it is: a journey! You learn about yourself even when you don’t practice. And this will bring you back to your practice, because you realize how much you benefit from it  🙂

Hope this helps!

Be well and Namaste,

Daniela