I struggle with discipline. I don’t like to be told what to do and I have a hard time sticking to new routines. I have no trouble indulging.
It’s not only children who benefit from structure and discipline, but ever since becoming an adult I’ve taken far more pleasure in pleasing myself than I have in exerting control. But yoga helps me change.
Yoga is a kind teacher but a firm one: If you disregard its recommendations to practice on an empty stomach, to be hydrated, you may find yourself with nausea or a headache. You learn through experience that it feels much better to be prepared, to care for your body in advance of class.
And foresight requires discipline: If I know I am going to yoga at ten p.m., I cannot eat after seven p.m. (Some people can but it’s like sleep–everyone needs a different amount of time to balance energy.) I should not chug water after nine–which won’t be an issue since I plan to sleep until then, in order to be rested and relaxed.
I will turn down an afternoon cupcake if I know I am going to yoga after work; any other day I’d most definitely partake. And I choose hummous over happy hour because I know what the payoff will feel like, and because I genuinely believe that two hours of yoga accompanied by live music and followed by post-midnight tea and cookies will be a wonderful way to spend my Friday night.
I’m beginning to understand that discipline doesn’t have to feel like punishment. I’m not forcing myself to adopt healthy patterns; I’m getting used to living well. Thank goodness yoga gives me the framework to do that without deprivation.
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