The Afterglow Effect: Cultivating Lasting Yoga Habits.
Forming a habit is no small feat. Falling out of one, however, seems to be far too easy to do…
Habit-forming involves commitment, planning, and motivation, but motivation begins with an intention and is strengthened by a sense of reward. Your intention comes from digging deep and asking yourself why you’re doing it in the first place. The reward is how you feel afterward.
I call this the afterglow.
The afterglow is what keeps the Big Love Yogi’s coming back to their mat even when they are feeling sluggish, anxious, and not in the mood. They know how it will make them feel in body, mind, and spirit — no matter how dampened those spirits may have been at the start.
Yoga releases chemicals like dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins whilst decreasing cortisol levels helping you feel less stressed and improving your mood. Together these elements create the afterglow.
If you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, there will be a build-up of tension and a surge of energy in your body that needs a good place to go. Mindfulness and somatic movement soothe your body, helping you feel grounded, shifting your mood and relaxing your body, inviting your muscles to loosen their grip.
Want to know the simple solution to creating healthy habits that one day become a lifestyle?
Repetition, my friend.
“My knees don’t hurt anymore, I’m stronger, and it’s the only class I’ve ever stuck to in my life, so I’m proud of myself too!”
Now let’s get real for a moment because I know life is hectic…
Start small and keep it simple, my love. The more often you do the small things, the bigger the impact will be. And a generous helping of accountability goes a long way in supporting you to harness those habits and move closer to your goals.
Yoga positively influences your nervous system and endocrine system by regulating your body, impacting the release of feel-good hormones, and helping you become more aware of your body and innate needs. — Helpful factors when you have a strong desire to craft new habits and cultivate a change in your lifestyle!
How mindfulness can help us to embrace change
Mindfulness has been defined as ‘paying attention’ to moment-to-moment experiences, on purpose, and resisting the urge to judge or compare.
Drawing your attention to the present moment in this way enables you to relate wholeheartedly to the world around you, to connect to your innate wholeness, and to play an active and powerful role in your daily health and well-being.
Paying attention, noticing, being present, and ’checking in’ on ourselves, supports us in recognising that we have choices rather than living habitually or on automatic pilot.
This is about playing the long game.
Slow mindful movements like in our yoga practice encourage a deeper sense of awareness and help cultivate confidence, compassion, and emotional resilience. Being aware of one’s body as you move through space, within poses and sequences, often connected to your breath, and learning to listen to the feedback from the body as you move.
Vinyasa flow and more dynamic sequences help focus your busy mind, encouraging mindfulness and promoting neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of your brain and nervous system to change their activity in response to internal or external stimuli. Playing a huge role in learning new skills, activities, and languages. Yoga stretches your brain as well as your muscles!
“It is so beneficial to me to have regular yoga classes with Becki in my diary, I know I’ll be getting a chance to stretch and challenge my body and then relax, to totally escape from everyday stresses, with a lovely group and in safe hands.”
Finding a style of yoga you enjoy can be a challenge as can finding the right space to practice. The style of yoga I share invites curiosity, awareness, and playfulness. Gently guiding you through movements to develop strength and mobility, and helping calm and soothe your body and mind.
Body-mindful yoga is the style of movement I share. It’s a blend of somatic and restorative yoga and vinyasa flow. By moving through slow mindful movements you become more aware of how you feel as you move. Helping reconnect to your body, regulate your nervous system, and improve your sleep, emotional resilience, strength, confidence and flexibility.
The nature of my sessions depends on the class you choose and how your body may be feeling however every session will leave you feeling rested, recharged, and rejuvenated - it’s guilt-free self-care!
My motto is “Embrace your wobbles”. Whether that be your physical wobbles or your emotional ones in daily life I encourage you to meet yourself where you are that day rather than where you think you should be.
If you want to drop in for a session use code NOVFLOW to book a live-streamed session for FREE!
Big love,
Becki
