How to go from low to glow in just 5 minutes

One of the biggest myths we tell ourselves is that we don't have enough time. We definitely don't have enough time to move our bodies - go for a walk, do a regular yoga practice or move to music. Ironically, those are the times when it's best to continue forward and show up to your movement practice. 

We don't need big chunks of time. We don't need to do hours of meditation. We don't need to go live in a cave. We live here, in the world, and among people. 

All we need is 5-10 minutes a day. The Magic 10 was designed by Sharon Gannon the co-founder of Jivamukti yoga. This practice moves the spine in all directions, can be performed in under 10 minutes a day, and will alter the trajectory of where you are headed.

Take a moment to think about where you are headed if you don't take any new action. For me, if I don't move my body every day, it's likely that I'll end up like my paternal grandmother who had a humpback and walked stooped over. 

What about you?

Now ask yourself, where do you want to be in 20, 30, 40 years' time? How do you want to feel in your body? I want to be like those women in Texas who are 80-year-old cheerleaders. I want to be like the 100-year-old yoga teacher who can do the splits. I want to be like the 90-year-old who took up going to the gym and knows themselves as strong. What a great feeling.

It's those micro-actions you take every day that will alter the trajectory of where you are headed. Stop telling yourself you don't have time or you're too old. The best time to start is now.

* In 5 minutes you could do a few salutes to the sun and one pose you feel like doing.

* In 5 minutes you could put on your favourite song and take a #dancebreak. Dance however you feel in your own home.

* In 5 minutes you could sit and quieten your mind, breathing consciously.

Whatever practice you do use, put on a timer and don't blow your usage in a day. If you do more than 5 minutes, you will be bargaining with yourself the next day at exactly the time you're supposed to be doing another 5 minutes. It would be super easy to buy yourself off with the thought, "But I did 10 minutes yesterday!" Your brain will tell you, "I've already done it. I did my 5 minutes for today, yesterday. I don't need to do it today." Then comes the next day. Now it's even harder to do the thing you had intended to do on day one and day two. So choose 5 minutes and do it consistently for a week. Then another week. And so on.

Saying you'll do something is easier than showing up and doing it. The relationship between saying and doing is often weak. However, you can build this muscle of doing what you said you will do. Every time you do what you said you would do, no matter how small or big an action, you feed yourself power. That muscle strengthens. Try it out.

What 5-minute practice will you start?

Love,

Danica

P.S Join me in a round of The Magic 10.