Not everything needs to be a full time commitment.

The other day I went to a yoga class after work. I first went to this studio which is only a few blocks away from my office about 3 years ago and totally hated it. The class was packed, the room felt boiling hot and the teacher wasn't able to provide me with any direct guidence because the class was so big. 

But last week I decided it was time to end my exercise break and forced myself to class and I was surprised to find I enjoyed every aspect. The class was less full so it was less hot, and the teacher was funny and insightful. I walked out feeling tired, calm and happy. 

I was relishing in that post yoga class bliss and my mind immediately went to "ok, when can I fit in na other class?" I started mapping out my schedule in my head and thinking about how I could arrange my days to fit 5 classes in over the next week. I began plotting how I could maintain this for at least the next two or three weeks. Then in the midst of this planning a suprising thought popped into my head "not everything needs to be a full time commitment". (Or something along those lines.) For my obsessive-planning mind this was a little shocking. I was in the midst of a full blown fantasy- how wonderful I will feel and how great I will look after being disciplined enough to go to yoga 5 times a week- and this thought stopped me in my tracks. 

Based on past experience this sort of fantasizing/planning just leads me to feeling like a failure. I do something that makes me feel great so I want to keep doing it. Then I make an over zealous plan to do the thing as often as possible and I let myself down when life gets in the way and I can't keep it up. Part of this habit of immediately thinking ahead is my uncanny ability to live in a fantasy future rather than this moment. The reason this thought struck me so hard was that I had moved on from relishing in the post yoga bliss I had felt moments before to an imaginary life where I was a dedicated yogi. The thought helped me return to the joy and contentment I was feeling after class, instead of wrapping me up in my ideas do the future. 

I know committing to my health is important, and going to yoga 5 times a week is certainly attainable but at the moment my exercise regime is pretty sparce. I work out about twice a week, usually at home. Aiming to attend a yoga class 5 times a week is a pretty aggressive goal for me right now and most likely setting me up for failure. This idea of not immediately committing to a full blown routine is pretty ground breaking to me. Of course I'd like to attend more classes, but starting on a smaller scale seems more likely to set me up for success. Since my last class, I've added two yoga classes to my calendar and that seems perfectly do-able. In fact I'm actually looking forward to each class as a high point in my day, instead of something I have to do because I am forcing some goal on myself. 

This circles back to my idea of living with ease this month. By scaling back on the goal setting and scheduling I am able to have more balance between the activities I want to do and quieter unfolding of the day. I want to be the person who is fully committed to a yoga practice but I have decided to take the slower route to get there. I imagine this sounds pretty elementary for most but, man, this concept of starting smaller is doing wonders to my over-anxious, over-stressed self. 

What do you think of starting with smaller goals? Have you had any success with it or are you the go big or go home type?