Maintaining a consistent exercise routine

I started yoga many years ago. Many more than I’d like to admit. I stumbled into a carpeted room in our local gym with my mom and my brother, was given a smelly old mat, and proceeded to do whatever I was told to do. For the life of me, I cannot remember what we actually did in those classes, nor what style of yoga it might have been, but I remember thinking how ridiculous it was that Downward Dog was considered a resting pose. 

Yoga would happen for a few months and then I would quit. A few months later, I would find my way back, stick it out for a few months, and then quit again. It went like this for years. Typically, my motivation to unroll my mat stemmed from a desire to lose weight, but the desire ended there.

Today, however, I can confidently say that “I do yoga”. It is very much a part of my life; perhaps not always daily, but most certainly several times a week. Sometimes it is the kind of yoga that leaves you sweaty and exhilarated. Other times it is simply 5 Sun As in my living room. No matter what it is though, the yoga is there; I have reached a point of having a consistent yoga routine.

So, what changed?

My motivation. Being motivated solely by a desire to lose weight, for whatever reason, never worked. It got me through a few months, but it inevitably faded and I was left with the memory of being a yogini, rather than actually being one.

Somewhere along my yoga journey, however, I discovered a different motivation: to have fun.

It seems obvious and logical that we are more likely to repeat activities we enjoy, so why don’t we apply this same logic to our exercise routine?

Here’s another way to look at it: when we approach exercise from the place of weight-loss, or some other goal, it becomes exactly that: goal-oriented and a chore. But if we change it to being about having fun, then the exercise becomes an end all in itself.

Unless you are training for a marathon or trying to win something, what is the point of forcing yourself to keep at an activity that you are no longer enjoying? Maybe you started running because you enjoyed it, but lately, you just feel kind of “blah” about it. What used to get you excited now feels like a complete drag. Don’t stop exercising, just change the kind of exercise you’re doing.

This has been my secret to maintaining an incredibly consistent exercise routine. Keep it fun. Always.

Over the COVID era, I have run, danced, done yoga, done online HIIT classes, I even went through a 3 month Billy Blanks phase. I am not training for anything now, so why not mix it up? I will do something for a while and, the moment it starts to feel like a chore, I change to something else.

The unintended bonus of this is that my body is always challenged and surprised, which is great for overall health and fitness.

In practising yoga, I just allow myself flexibility within each session to do what moves me on that day. Even in a studio setting, if something feels more like a “have to” and less like a “get to”, I switch it up. 

I firmly believe in trusting ourselves. Perhaps if your body is asking for something, there’s a reason for that. Listening to it could be exactly what you need.

Find the fun in whatever exercise you choose to do and you’ll find yourself moving, breathing, and sweating far more regularly than ever before.