How to Create More Time in Your Day

What I love about yoga practice is that - if we let it - we can take the tools we use (and cultivate) on the mat and take it off the mat to make life flow better for us.

For this piece, I will assume that many of you are familiar enough with kundalini yoga to know that each exercise (asana) is timed.

Let me tell you how that timer has become a very good friend to me.

Most of us understand that we can spend from 30 minutes to 3 hours to 3 days (or weeks!) cleaning out our closet. And some of you may also know that one can edit a piece of writing forever. At some point, one has to decide where that point of diminishing return is and stop there. That's where that timer comes along handy: Set it and go. Stop when it rings.

What's so great about it?

It allows us to do what you might have heard in class:          set it and forget it.

We set our drishti, mudra and asana where it needs to be, then we forget it and turn our focus to our breath, or mantra, for a given amount of time. During that time, we tune out the monkey mind and tune in to the moment, staying fully present to our inner world- the sensations that come up on all levels. We observe and we push through using the best tool(s) we have: our breath and/ or mantra.

It allows us to stay very present with what we are doing the moment we start our timer. We don't have to keep looking at the clock to see how much time we (don't) have and what else needs to be done. We don't have to multi-task. We simply dedicate that window of time to the task at hand. Just as we would pace our squats differently if we knew we had to do them for 1 minute or for 7, we pace ourselves accordingly based on what we set our timer for.

This allows us to be present, which allows us to be more effective, make less mistakes, enjoy what we are doing, experience the clarity & benefits of a one-track mind, and more likely complete something. It also enables us to pace ourselves, stop, and touch the other things that need our FULL attention.

It is much more nourishing.

And you may see that time becomes more generous.