The Adventures and The Magic of a Daily Practice...

So, if you haven't noticed? I love to share how ideas in Yoga philosophy can be applied to everyday living - even if you're not a 'yogi' these concepts can be powerful tools for everyone in all facets of our lives. And my hope is that they can help you live your life to it's fullest potential!
In yoga, we use the word, "Sadhana" which translates as "Daily Practice."
From a yogic perspective we are referring to a meditation practice or even a physical practice that we commit to everyday
But it's important to acknowledge that this can mean any practice!
I have one friend who, for years, writes 'morning pages' religiously everyday. For a certain amount of minutes or pages he grabs a pen, paper and just writes! This exercise empties the subconscious mind and also exercises & stretches our writers 'muscles'.
Here's the correlation to Yoga Practice - Meditation also clears the subconscious mind and yoga exercises build and stretch the muscles within our body. Funny how things are linked. See what I mean? Your Practice can be whatever you choose for it to be!

What does Daily Practice teach us? Why bother?
Commitment to a Daily practice teaches us to 'show up' and to be accountable.
Practice instills confidence in our ability and our self. And it builds our technique and skills so that we can excel - Whoa! that's a tall order, so let me simplify!

The Adventure of Showing Up

In yoga we often talk about Showing Up & Keeping Up. You don't have to feel good about it, You don't have to want to be there, You don't even have to participate to your fullest. But there is a huge power in making the Commitment to being there.
I have been practicing a very specific mediation and posture called Bound Lotus Everyday since July 1, 2010 & I'm almost halfway to my goal of 1,000 days!! Why? Well that's a whole 'nother post. But briefly it builds strength in my body, instills (much needed!) peace in my mind, and it teaches me discipline. Commitment challenges the 100's of excuses (I am very good at those..!) that we come up that prevent us from doing and it teaches us that we CAN! (see the pretty picture of 2 wonderful students practicing Bound Lotus!) And even though it's the same posture, everyday is a new experience.
Stay tuned for more info about Bound Lotus, I will be teaching a workshop in November.

As for creative types and other endeavors, I'm going to repeat some wise words from the writer, Beth Nielson-Chapman. When I heard her speak she also talked about showing up [to write]. Even if you just stare at the page and play some chords that go no where? Or if your fingers are fumbling on that piece of music you thought you had perfected yesterday? Know that on a subconscious level, you are still building your creative muscles and honing your craft. I found this very inspiring. It takes pressure off of us - You don't always have to be perfect... You just need to Show Up! And I also find that sometimes? On the days when we feel most like NOT being there, often those are the days when we make the most progress!

It can be encouraging to know that we just need to show up. It doesn't matter whether we write a hit, play a perfect melody or perfect our yoga posture. We are doing the work, making progress and that's what matters.

Magic
My coach, Cari Cole talks a lot about setting up a "Daily" practice as a foundation for building success. This means a Minimum of an hour a day that you can break up into instrument practice, writing exercises, vocal practice. What ever it is that you want to focus on? This level of dedication is Magical in building both Confidence and Your Craft as an artist.
The well-known songwriting teacher Pat Pattison talks about doing an exercise called Object writing for 10 minutes, no more and no less Everyday in order to build your craft as writer.
Why are all these famous teachers talking about the same thing? When you consistently show up to do the work you prove to ourself day after day that you CAN!! And by doing it, You are getting better every day!Progress can be a pretty Magical thing

Every Day?

Well, I've talked a lot about Practice but let's touch briefly upon why we say DAILY.
Everyday consistency builds tremendous energetic momentum in our muscles and in our subconscious patterns. In yoga we look at practice in 40, 90, 120, and 1,000 day increments. We say it takes 40 days to make or break a habit, 90 days to instill that habit into our being, 120 to make that practice who we are and 1,000 days to master something. Consistency builds an energy within us. When we miss a day it breaks the patterns that we are creating and dissipates the momentum of what we are building.
I remember taking an ear training class and the teacher was adamant that we do a specific exercise EVERYDAY! His reasoning was essentially the same as the yogis! Everyday activity trains the 'muscles' consistently. Creating subconscious muscle memory is the best way to instill the skills effectively and that is the road to mastery.

So..... What is your daily practice? What is one thing you would like to improve upon or master? Start by committing to 15 minutes a day... Set your Timer & 1,2,3 GO on a Magical Adventure

We also say in Yoga "When any posture is held over time, the Universe comes to support that person...." And My experience is that this is true.

With Love, Support, Magic, and Blessed Adventures on Your Journey