Yoga and CBT

Starting a short, simple routine first thing in the morning is something I’ve always wanted to do, but I only ever ended up drinking 2 glasses of water daily when I wake up, and doing some stretching. During 200hr Yoga TTC, we learnt the Tirisula 5-Step Rejuvenation to do every morning. I must admit I do steps 1-3 and then I do my own stretching, especially opening up the shoulder and hip joints where I feel most stiff in the mornings. However, it enabled me to finally kick-start a morning routine, and as it only takes 30 days for something to become a habit, I am the better for it, and of course I will get to completing all 5 steps every morning!

Just before starting this course, I completed an online course about the Essentials of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), something I’ve become interested in since learning about it at uni. CBT is used to help shift thoughts and behaviours to more positive and productive ones. A key concept of CBT is “people get better by making small changes in their thinking and behaviour everyday” and as someone who practices or teaches yoga, I think it is important to remind ourselves and our students of this. Common thoughts I have are “I have no time” or “I’m too tired” which leads to not doing yoga as often as I’d like to. Now I keep reminding myself I’m doing a beneficial thing that has long-term positive effects, and when I do complete the morning routine I tell myself “it’s good that I did that today” – as suggested in CBT to build a sense of self-efficacy. I will continue to do this as I increase the yoga practice to include asanas in my morning routine once this 200hr Yoga TTC ends!

– Ari (200hr YTTC, 2018)