“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
Aristotle
Hey lovely,
Have you ever asked yourself, "How do I make my yoga practice consistent?" How do I actually keep showing up, not just when I feel like it, not just when life is calm and the mat is calling, but on the ordinary Tuesdays and the difficult Thursdays and the mornings when the alarm goes off and everything in me wants to stay horizontal? On those days when all the wheels have fallen off the wagon, and I just want to curl up into a ball and hide?
Well, read on because I may have some helpful hints for you, my friend.
I think consistency is something we all struggle with from time to time, especially in winter, but now that spring has sprung, and the sun has been gracing us with its warmth and vigour these last few days, it's a little easier to build habits, spring out of bed and make some new commitments to yourself. Because the truth is, the practice you do every day, even if it’s ten minutes, even if it’s imperfect, even if some days it’s just three conscious breaths on the edge of your bed, will transform you in ways that the occasional magnificent class simply cannot.
This is the power of Sadhana. And this week we’re going to talk about why it works, not just philosophically, but neurologically, energetically, and in the deeply practical way of a life lived differently over time. 🎉
WHAT IS SADHANA?
The Sanskrit word Sadhana comes from the root sadh, to accomplish, to go straight to the goal. It refers to a daily spiritual practice, a deliberate and consistent discipline undertaken with intention. Traditionally, this is a morning practice performed at Brahma Muhurta, the auspicious hour approximately 90 minutes before sunrise, when the world is still, the mind is clear, and the energy of the new day has not yet been claimed by obligations.
That is the ideal. And it is genuinely beautiful if you can meet it. But Sadhana is not primarily about the time of day (thank goodness, because if you are not a morning person like me, that bhrama muhurta is never going to happen). Instead, it is more about the quality of intention and the commitment to consistency. An evening practice held with devotion is Sadhana. Ten minutes of breathwork at lunchtime, practised daily and with presence, is Sadhana. The form matters far less than the frequency and the sincerity.
In yogic philosophy, Sadhana is considered one of the most powerful tools available for transformation, more powerful, in many traditions, than intensive retreat or a dramatic spiritual experience. Because it is not the peak that shapes us most. It is the daily tending. The quiet, unwitnessed, unglamorous commitment to self.
WHAT THE BRAIN DOES WHEN YOU REPEAT
Here is where ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience arrive at exactly the same place from completely different directions.
Every time you perform an action, your brain fires a sequence of neurons. The first time -uncertain, effortful, requiring full conscious attention. But... and you've probably heard this before: neurons that fire together, wire together. Each repetition of the same sequence makes those neural pathways slightly thicker, slightly faster, slightly more automatic. This is called myelination, the brain wrapping its most-used pathways in a fatty sheath that speeds transmission dramatically. What was once an effort becomes an ease. What required decision becomes reflex.
Your daily yoga practice is, in the most literal neurological sense, building a different brain. The pathways of attention, of body awareness, of breath regulation, of the capacity to sit with discomfort and choose your response, all of these thicken with each repetition. You are not just practising yoga. You are constructing a nervous system that carries yoga into everything.
There is also a concept from habit research called the habit loop, identified by MIT researchers and popularised by Charles Duhigg, which describes the three-part cycle of cue, routine, and reward that underlies all habitual behaviour. Sadhana works with this loop deliberately: the cue is the time of day or the ritual trigger (the alarm, the cup of tea, the unrolling of the mat), the routine is the practice itself, and the reward, crucially, is not external achievement but the felt sense of having shown up for yourself. That internal reward is the one that compounds.
IDENTITY, NOT WILLPOWER
Here is an insight from James Clear’s work in Atomic Habits that I find quite profound, and most resonant with the yogic tradition: the most powerful shift you can make is not changing what you do, but changing who you believe yourself to be.
Most people approach practice with outcome-based thinking: I want to be more flexible, I want to feel less stressed, I want to lose weight. These are fine goals. But they locate the motivation in the future, in something you don’t yet have, which means every day you practise without having achieved the goal, some part of you feels like you’re failing.
Identity-based practice is different. Instead of “I’m trying to build a yoga practice,” it’s “I am someone who practises yoga.” Every time you step on your mat, even for five minutes, even on the hard days, you cast a vote for that identity. You are not working toward becoming someone. You are being someone, one repetition at a time.
This is precisely what the yogic concept of Sadhana encodes. The Sanskrit root sadh doesn’t mean “to try to accomplish”; it means to go straight to the goal. The practice is not the path to the destination. The practice is the destination, arrived at freshly each day.
THE MYTHS THAT KEEP US OFF THE MAT
MYTH 1: “I don’t have time for a proper practice.” The idea that your yoga practice must be 60-90 minutes is one of the most effective barriers yoga culture has accidentally created. Neuroscience does not agree. Ten minutes of consistent daily practice builds stronger neural pathways than a 90-minute class once a week. Frequency matters more than duration. A five-minute morning sit, done daily, will change you more than you can currently imagine.
MYTH 2: “I missed a few days, so I’ve ruined it.” Research by UCL psychologist Phillippa Lally found that missing occasional days had no meaningful impact on habit formation; what matters is returning, not perfection. The yogic tradition has a word for this too: Abhyasa, steadfast, long-term practice. Not flawless practice. The practitioner who returns after missing a week is practising Abhyasa. The one who gives up because they missed a week is not.
MYTH 3: “I should wait until I feel motivated to start.” Motivation follows action, not the other way around, and that is something a lot of people get wrong; waiting for inspiration to strike or the mood to take you means you'll most likely be waiting for quite a while. The neuroscience is clear: the brain releases dopamine not just at reward, but in anticipation of reward. Once a ritual is established, the cue itself triggers a dopamine response: the sight of your mat, the smell of your tea, which generates the feeling we mistake for motivation. You don’t wait to feel like practising. You practise until you feel like it. Then you keep going. 😜
SADHANA AND PRANA - THE ENERGETIC DIMENSION
In our last Yogi Note, we explored Prana, the life force, and the five Vayus that move it through the body. Sadhana is, in the yogic understanding, the most reliable way to cultivate, balance, and direct that Prana intentionally.
Each time you practise, you are not starting from zero. The Prana cultivated in yesterday’s practice has not disappeared; it has been absorbed, integrated, and built upon. A daily practice creates a flowing, continuous river of vital energy, rather than the sporadic puddles that form and evaporate with occasional practice. The energy compounds. The clarity deepens. With each passing day, the stillness becomes more accessible, more quickly.
BUILDING YOUR SADHANA - A PLACE TO START
The most important principle: start smaller than you think you need to. Absurdly small. The goal is to make the practice so manageable that resistance has nothing to grip.
A MINIMUM VIABLE SADHANA - begin here
- CHOOSE A TRIGGER, NOT A TIME. Not “I’ll practise at 7am” - life defeats time-based plans. Instead: “After I make my morning tea, before I look at my phone.” The trigger is reliable. The practice follows it.
- COMMIT TO THREE MINUTES. Not thirty. Three. You can always do more - but three minutes is your non-negotiable minimum. On the days when life is impossible, three minutes still counts. Three minutes still rewires something.
- MAKE IT PHYSICAL FIRST. Unroll the mat. Sit on it. This is the hardest part - the transition from ordinary life into practice space. Once you’re on the mat, the practice usually happens. Make the mat appear as your ritual trigger.
- INCLUDE ONE BREATH PRACTICE. Even three rounds of slow, conscious breathing constitutes pranayama - and pranayama, even briefly, begins to shift the nervous system within seconds. It is the fastest route into practice state.
- CLOSE WITH AN INTENTION, NOT AN ACHIEVEMENT. Not “I completed X minutes.” But: “I showed up today.” That is the whole practice. That is enough. Say it to yourself. Mean it.
WHAT A DAILY PRACTICE DOES OVER TIME - WHAT NO SINGLE CLASS CAN GIVE YOU:
— The nervous system learns to shift state more quickly
— Calm becomes accessible, not aspirational
— The gap between stimulus and response widens
— You begin to choose your reactions rather than just have them
— Your relationship with discomfort changes
— You develop the capacity to be with difficulty without being undone by it
— The practice becomes a container, a reliable, predictable space of your own in a world that often feels like it has none
— You stop waiting to feel ready and start anticipating the return to your mat each day
— Showing up becomes its own answer to the question of whether to show up
— Over months and years, the person who steps onto the mat is quietly, unmistakably different from the one who started, and you won’t be able to point to a single practice that did it
The transformation that yoga promises is real. But it lives in the ordinary days, not the extraordinary ones. It lives in the Tuesday morning when nothing is wrong but nothing is inspired and you unroll the mat anyway. It lives in the five-minute practice you almost skipped. It lives in the quiet accumulation of ten thousand small returnings.
You don’t build a practice by being motivated. You build it by deciding you are someone who practises, and then proving it to yourself, one ordinary day at a time.
See you on the mat. Again. And again. And again. ❤️
What's Happening In The Pantry 🧘♀️
Have you tried out our new Tuesday night class yet? 🤸♀️ Join Kat every Tuesday at 6pm for Hatha Free Flow
A creative, embodied yoga practice weaving together Hatha, Vinyasa, free movement and breathwork.
Rather than following the same sequence each week, we'll explore different ways of moving, breathing and being in the body. Some classes may feel strong and energising, others slower and more spacious, always with an invitation to listen, explore and move from the inside out.
We'll use movement, breath and awareness to release tension, lengthen and awaken the body, and support the nervous system to settle. There is space for curiosity, play and self-expression, alongside moments of stillness and rest.
Come ready to move, breathe and explore and leave with a little more space, freedom and connection.
Then stick around for Yin at 7.15 pm, a perfect evening of delectable yoga.
EXCITING MINI RETREAT
Join Karryn in November for a blissful afternoon of self-care the perfect way to refresh yourself for summer.
Return To Self: A Mini Retreat (one-off special, so don't miss out)
This 2.5 hour retreat is all about the feel-good stretches, physically and mentally, that will help you connect with your inner peaceful nature and feel more grounded and calm in body and mind. Designed as a mini-retreat, the afternoon session will include an opening circle, breathwork, slow flow yoga (suitable for all levels), journaling (for some introspection and to challenge intrusive thoughts) and a soothing yoga nidra (yogic sleep) practice, leaving you feeling refreshed and centred.
No need to bring anything, just yourself; we will provide the rest. You will also receive a journal and pen to jot down your thoughts and experiences. This will be a small, intimate group, celebrating you and weaving together a beautiful little community of like-minded souls.
Spaces are extremely limited.
BOOK NOW to secure your spot on Sunday, November 15
3:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Head here to book all your regular yoga classes and maybe even try some new ones!
Remember, you can join us online from anywhere in the world, live or at a time that suits you, with our instant 14-day on-demand Zoom recording!
Don't forget you can also join us for a FREE meditation session every Saturday morning, and even if you can't, you can book in via Zoom and do the meditation later in the day, or every day, until the next session :)
Your YouTube Class Of The Week...
In the spirit of consistency, here's the playlist of my 10-minute, 10-day yoga challenge. Set aside just 10 minutes and choose any video that takes your fancy from this playlist and get to it 😉
Feel free to share these vids far and wide because sharing is caring, and it helps me with the algorithm :D
With so much love and admiration for every single time you show up 🌿
Tash & The Yoga Pantry Team
See you on the mat 😻 (again and again and again 😜)
P.S If you wish to receive these amazing Yogi Notes straight to your inbox, sign up HERE
You can also catch up on previous Yogi Notes right HERE
P.P.S Don’t forget to share your Yoga insights on social media with the hashtag #TheYogaPantryLife #Yogaislife #theyogapantrywithtash
Let’s spread the yoga love far and wide!
I see you, and I appreciate you. You are awesome...and don't you forget it ;) x
