How to Integrate Yoga Principles Into Daily Life

If I could get away with doing it and no one would notice, I’d totally pop a nice, restorative pigeon under my desk. However, that isn’t very practical. A big part of strengthening your body through yoga is also shifting how you approach life.

When I first started practicing yoga, I was that person who went, “Wow, I get to lay on the ground at the end of class and just breathe? This is amazing!”

The mindset was not the most mindful approach to yoga, but I think a lot of beginners feel this way after their first class.

If you’re debating practicing yoga or if you’re early in your practice, it’s hard to approach yoga as anything more than a type of exercise. If you find that yoga is indeed for you, there are a lot of principles that go along with yoga that can be incredibly helpful to practice in your day to day life.

It might sound a little out there to you at first, but integrating some of the best lessons from yoga into a typical day can make your regular days a lot less stressful.

You can subtly use breathing techniques in any stressful situation.

It's hard to quickly conquer little stresses that pop up in your typical day. But if you can find inner tranquility even under stressful circumstances, it can take the sting out of so many difficult moments. It’ll make resolving whatever that source of stress is a little bit easier.

Following the trend of how I approached yoga in the beginning, I also approached breathing all wrong. That might sound funny since I’m still here, alive and breathing, but I truly didn’t think that trying to control my breathing could actually help me.

Using breathing techniques takes a lot of practice for some of us.

On a practical level, I knew breathing should help, I just didn’t think it worked for me. Like everyone else, I’d read studies about how taking deep breaths can reduce stress and anxiety, but it just didn’t seem to apply to me.

The reality was that I was just so bad at controlling my breathing that I wasn't feeling any benefit. It took years of practice before I stuck with breathing techniques long enough to feel their incredible soothing effects.

Medical News Today published a story summarizing a study that looked at the neurophysiological effects of controlled breathing. In addition to being incredibly useful at managing stress, “mindfulness meditation techniques actually strengthen brain networks.”

Shifting things back to how you can use this in your daily life, try to control your breathing for a few minutes when you’re at work and starting to feel stressed. Take deep breaths, hold them for a second or two, then exhale slowly. If you make your exhalations slower than your inhalations, this can help to calm your heart rate if it’s going wild.

You can do in your workplace, or other stressful situations like waiting in a doctor's waiting room, without anyone noticing or caring what you’re doing. It’s something you can do while still carrying out other tasks, which makes it extra valuable for busy lifestyles.

Remember that movement is important even on days you don't do a full practice.

This doesn’t mean trying to do a downward dog at your desk; it’s just purposefully remembering to move. This could mean standing up and stretching your arms above your head for a moment, taking a brief stroll to the water cooler because hydration is important too, or any other small stretch you feel is socially acceptable for your workplace.

The key is remembering to move a little. If your job is sedentary, it’s easy to get caught up in tasks and forget to give yourself breaks or keep moving while you work.

There are simple office yoga routines with poses that aren’t too weird to do around your coworkers, but I share a room with two other people…and I know I’d get a lot of strange looks and questions if I did even half of an office yoga routine.

Putting a little more kindness out into the world.

There have been times when I was under immense pressure, working multiple stressful jobs, and sleeping very little at night. There were times I’d get far too angry while driving. I’m embarrassed by that behavior now. A lot of people would probably find it justified in those circumstances — after all, I only got angry when people legitimately broke laws or endangered themselves and me — but was it accomplishing anything?

Probably not.

This is just one example, but whenever I start to feel particularly frustrated or angry, I try to take a step back. Yoga is, in part, about calming the body and mind. I’ve also had many teachers who were very deep in the spiritual side of yoga who would share their beliefs in how the practice is also partially about love and sharing that love with the world.

No matter what your beliefs are, whether religious, spiritual, or anything else, the world needs a little more kindness. I used to be a short-tempered person, but I’ve made progress on changing that in the last few years. Moment by moment and situation by situation, I try to remind myself that I want to be a kind person who puts kindness out into the world. It sounds hammy, but it is true.

Think about what matters most to you about your practice.

The kindness and love lessons might not resonate with you as clearly if you don’t have problems with those things. Something else might — like the importance of balance, the importance of self-introspection, or any of the other key principles of yoga.

Think about what draws you to yoga. Think about that unique aspect that resonates with you deeply. Now, brainstorm ways that you can bring that principle with you into your daily life.

Yoga can nurture more than your body. Meditation, mindful breathing, and guided meditation exercises that foster self-love are all ways you can make yoga help you comprehensively, both in mind and body. It might sound a little crazy if you’re very new to yoga, but go in with a beginner’s mind. You might just be surprised.

Try these ways and explore others. The more you believe in the new habits you’re trying to forge, the easier it will be to make them stick. There are many little ways you can integrate yoga into your daily life seamlessly. Practicality is important; you can do these things anywhere and everywhere.