Bringing Your Yoga Practice with you off the Mat

If you’ve ever been to one of my classes, you will have heard me say: ‘carry your practice with you off the mat today.’ I am passionate about encouraging my students to experience everything that underpins the practice of yoga, and a lot of this (in fact most of it) happens off the mat. When your yoga practice starts to feed into your everyday life and the daily decisions that you make, that’s when you really start to become hooked. But how do we practice yoga in our daily lives? Well, in lots of ways. But there are a few yogic principles which have made a monumental difference to the way that I look at life, so I thought I’d share these with you in the hope that they help to deepen your yoga journey too. 

One of the key principles of yoga is ahimsa – a Sanskrit word meaning non-violence. In a literal sense this means not inflicting harm on other beings. Hopefully none of us are going around directly hurting other humans or animals! But for me ahimsa also extends to my choices as a consumer and what I deem as ethical. I choose to have a fully plant-based diet and avoid contributing to an industry that inflicts harm on animals. A little disclaimer here: I’m definitely not saying you need to be vegan to practice yoga and that you’re not doing yoga properly if you choose to eat meat and dairy. We’re all on our own journey and doing the best we can. I’m simply highlighting how this practice has led me to look more closely at my personal principles and make ethical decisions accordingly. 

But ahimsa goes much deeper than refraining from committing physical harm. It also means having non-damaging thoughts towards both ourselves and others – something we’re often guilty of. This can be as seemingly harmless as looking in the mirror and having negative thoughts about what you see. We can practice yoga off the mat by training ourselves to be non-violent in thoughts, actions and words. 

Another key principle of yoga is Aparigraha – a Sanskrit word meaning non-greed. Again, for me this points to my choices as a consumer and how I choose to engage with the modern world. Yoga has led me to reshuffle my priorities a little when it comes to materialism. Of course we need things to survive, but I’ve come to realise that I need a lot less than I thought I did and I feel so much better mentally for clearing some of the physical clutter that I’ve built up over the years. Now, when it does come to a point where I need some more clothes, I have a bit of a rule for myself where I only buy either second-hand items, or items that have been ethically and sustainably produced. The modern world thrives of consumerism, but I’ve learned to gain a much greater awareness through yoga which has led me to establish my order of priorities a little better. Genuine human connection and engaging with nature comes towards the top of the list, whilst physical possessions come closer towards the bottom. My headspace feels much clearer as a result, I’m taking a small step to help the environment, and my bank account is looking a little perkier too! 

My decisions to go plant based and consume only sustainable fashion are positive lifestyle changes that have stemmed from yoga. However, you really don’t need to make big lifestyle changes like these to practice yoga off the mat. Simply taking a deep breath and smiling next time someone pulls out in-front of you on a roundabout instead of shouting and swearing is yoga in practice. Put simply, yoga teaches us to be kinder, more compassionate, and live more peaceful and fulfilling lives. We can put these principles into practice every day. 

I’d also like to point out here that I’m not perfect! I’m very much a student of yoga as well as a teacher and I have days where I look back and think ‘I became triggered by that and I shouldn’t have’. Like you I’m learning all the time and striving to become a better version of myself through this journey. So next time you step off your mat at the end of a 60-minute vinyasa class, continue to follow the path of yoga (whatever that means to you) for the rest of your day and experience all the wonderful benefits that this brings. 

Namaste

Nikki x