7 Ways Yoga Will Empower You to Attain the Life You Want (+15 Beginner Poses)

Do you find yourself procrastinating? Feeling like you should be accomplishing so much, but just thinking about acting is tiring? Or maybe you’re feeling that your efforts are not adding value to your life?

You know you want to hold a checklist with all items marked “done” and a big, fat check to go with it. Yet you can’t quite figure out how to plan your next move, because every time you google ways to make your efforts add up, your mouse deviates to something else. Oops, it’s late. Time for bed.

“You need motivation,” says the voice keeping you awake at night. Maybe. But motivation comes from setting the rhythms for your life.

A regular yoga practice can help you create the rhythms that align with your goals. Step onto the mat and into the life you desire with these 7 skills that outdo motivation:

1. Mastering Focus

You’ve been staring blankly at the wall trying to get things done, only to find yourself zoning out for half an hour. Cloud your eyes no more. Imagine channeling your energy through movements and poses that engage your brain as a beam. Yoga centers your awareness on the areas of the body that are required for each exercise. You can use the same principle of centering to concentrate your mind light-bulb on one idea at a time. 5 minutes of practice can turn into an hour of productivity!

Poses Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 keep your mind present and reinforce moving with intention.

2. Weighing the Balance

Are you doing too much? Too little? Are you shooting arrows all over the place, but feeling areas of your life suffering from neglect? Separating a time block in your day for yoga practice can teach you to structure your time and incorporate all the areas that matter to you. What a great tool to polish your priorities for long-term steadiness! A wholesome plan of complementing elements will keep your energy going.

Tree Pose and Eagle pose coordinate different muscles at once, pinpointing how each comprising part affects your alignment.

3. One Step to Consistency

As you begin your journey, you may find yourself growing ambitious. You’ve been taking some small steps and are ready to cram a year’s worth of effort into one week. Take it easy, tiger! Nothing will crush your drive like flipping onto your head without having built the strength for it. You will see the fruit of your bearings when you take consistent steps each day. It is easier to walk in the right direction when the steps are small and simple to readjust. 10 minutes of yoga, or of any activity practiced with persistence, will make all the difference in your progress. Remember, forward is forward — so long as you keep moving.

Child’s Pose and Cat Pose will remind you that small actions have a deep effect.

4. “I will” Means Power

You genuinely want to do the things on your list, but all those distractions you’ll criticize yourself for pampering are calling louder. How do you make yourself stay on the right track? Simple! Stepping onto your mat will train your willpower muscles. Great news! By developing these muscles in one easy area, you are developing them in every other area. Keeping yourself in line will no longer be a burden, because you will get used to acting for your maximum benefit. You will be able to rely on your determination, preferring the minor pain of upholding your priorities over the setbacks of indulging in playing Candy Crush.

Mountain pose and Downward Facing Dog establish a foundation for exercising willpower. They emphasize the idea that you are able to bring yourself onto the mat and do the next task.

5. Next challenge, please!

Life is a constant struggle to grow. Now inhale. Exhale. That’s it — you’ve got this! When your thighs are flaming from holding that lunge, you realize that you can strengthen yourself or you can melt down without even trying. As you learn to embrace temporary discomfort, your struggles to succeed will become easier to tolerate. You are actively choosing to rise to the challenges for the reward, rather than squirm under the difficulties of an aimless life.

Training with Chair Pose and High Lunge will develop this sense of joy in the struggle. You will lower that eyebrow when you discover that you feel proud of the sweat-drops. Looking forward to the benefits!

6. Serves me, serves me not

It is easy to get caught up in fear of all the world-ending ways our plans might fail. Or in how they have, in fact, not been working out. But, guess what? Conscious breathing not only tones your muscles and health — it releases negative elements from your mind so you can blow any barriers off your path. The relaxation you get from yoga provides you with a safe place within yourself to re-align and conquer through tranquility. You do not flail around in your mind when the road turns unexpectedly; you are able to remain calmed, focused, and in control. You have chosen your path to reap rewards, not to rip your hair out by fistfuls, right?

Forward Fold and Cobra Pose soothe the mind and muscles, helping you to access a relaxed state of mind at will.

7. Standing On Both Feet

If only the world would stop pulling the mat from under you…

A consistent yoga practice will open you up to the fact that success is up to YOU. When you stop blaming circumstances for your stage in life, you can focus on improvement. Eventually, this sense of responsibility transfers into your daily routine. You learn that you don’t need $100,000 in your bank account to start propelling yourself forward. You can do it from anywhere, at any time. No special tools — just you and your growing confidence.

Plank Pose and Warrior 3 will boost the connection with your inner strength.

BONUS: You can join the distance between where you are now and where you want to be — use Bridge Pose to become the way!

Ready to start checking things off your list? Make yoga the first regular item on the list and notice the changes in your perspective. Does it change your approach to success? Notice the shifts in your life. Leading your steps towards your vision is easier with the right skills. Envision yourself achieving the focus, the balance, the inner strength required to take each step of your journey. Flow with the challenges and the ease to let go of what doesn’t serve you.

The life you desire awaits. Get into its rhythm — Breath in, breath out. Attain it.