You're Already There

Sometimes the hardest part is just showing up.
At the end of many of my yoga classes, I remind my students to bow their head in honor of themselves for the, sometimes, Herculean effort of just showing up to class. It's so easy to get derailed. You know, we all have those "best laid plans."
Back in my office monkey life I remember dreading late afternoon phone calls because they were usually about last-minute-have-to-be-done-first-thing-tomorrow projects. And of course our servers only ever crashed at 6pm. On Friday. These days, I'm amazed that I get myself and my toddler out of the house at all, much less on time.
I notice that sometimes my students will disappear for weeks on end. I never know if they're away, sick, or just busy. Often it's the latter, and when they do finally turn back up I often hear the same thing, "my life got in the way of my yoga practice." Unfortunately, this is the downside of group yoga classes. The "class" can become the yoga.
Don't get me wrong; I really love a big, sweaty yoga class. I love being with all the other people on this same inward trajectory as me. I especially love the rhythm of dozens of people practicing ujjayi pranayama in unison.
But we must remember that group classes are not the only way to practice yoga. Equally as important, your yoga practice doesn't have to take place in large chunks of time either. Before your toes even touch the floor in the morning, take the time to set an intention for your day and do a few movement inquiries to check in with your body and your breath. Instead of that Starbucks break in the afternoon, ease yourself into a couple of stretches and practice a bit of nadi shodhana pranayama - more energizing and grounding than a cup of coffee. Before picking up that late afternoon phone call, take a long deep breath.
By interspersing your day with bits of yoga you'll soon realize that yoga is a methodology for living mindfully and purposefully. What you learn in a class setting are the tools to live your yoga off the mat. But it's up to you to make the transition.
The best thing about practicing yoga within the scope of your normal, everyday life is that there's nothing to show up to. You're already there.