Returning to Your Yoga Practice: Small Steps to Come Back to Your Self

It’s normal to fall away from your yoga practice — especially during times of stress, grief, burnout, or survival. Whether you’ve been navigating a long to-do list, caring for others, or recovering from loss or illness, returning to your yoga practice can feel overwhelming. For many of us, the hardest part is knowing how to begin again.

Yoga reminds us that we don’t have to wait until things are perfect. Atha yoganusasanam — and now, the yoga begins. In any moment, no matter how far we’ve strayed, we are invited to return to our practice and to our deeper Self — gently, slowly, and with care.

Why Returning to Your Yoga Practice Begins Exactly Where You Are

In The Yoga Sutras, the very first line is a powerful reminder:

Atha yogānuśāsanam — And now, the practice of yoga begins.

Not once you’ve figured everything out. Not after the grief has passed. Not when your schedule clears or you feel rested.

Now.

Yoga meets you right where you are — overwhelmed, exhausted, tender, or numb. It invites you to begin again in this moment, without judgment.

Why It’s Hard to Restart Your Yoga Practice (and What Helps)

If you’ve ever felt frustrated for “falling off” your practice, you’re not alone. And, you’re not failing — your brain is actually doing what it’s designed to do.

The brain resists change to conserve energy. Starting (or restarting) any intentional habit requires conscious effort, which feels more demanding at first. But with small, repeated steps, your brain forms new neural pathways. Eventually, the basal ganglia (the brain structure that manages motor control, learning, and executive functions) takes over, turning your conscious effort into unconscious ease.

In other words: the more lovingly you return, the easier it becomes to stay.

Daily Yoga Practice Is More Than a Perfect Routine

Your daily practice (sadhana) and daily rhythm (dinacharya) aren’t checkboxes or rigid rules. They are invitations to remember.

To reconnect with your nervous system.
To realign with your inner knowing.
To create a rhythm of care that supports your unique life.

Practice doesn’t have to be perfect. It only has to be possible.

3 Small, Gentle Ways to Return to Your Yoga Practice

If you’re feeling far from your center, here are three simple ways to begin again — no overwhelm required.

1. Choose One Tiny Anchor

Start your day with a small act of presence:

• Drink warm water slowly.

• Gaze at the sky before checking your phone.

• Sit quietly and say, “I’m here.”

One minute is enough. One breath is enough. Let this be your re-entry point.

2. Return to a Single Practice

Instead of planning an hour-long session, come back to one thing:

• Move into a favorite restorative pose like supported child’s pose or legs up the wall

• Observe your effortless breath

• Read

Let this one practice be your sacred thread — something you return to each day.

3. Pair a New Habit with an Existing One

Make returning easier by pairing a new rhythm with something you already do:

• While tea is steeping, do a gentle stretch.

• After brushing your teeth, take three grounding breaths.

• After closing your laptop, place your hands on your belly and feel your breath.

These tiny cues become invitations to presence.

How to Stay in Practice When Life Feels Overwhelming

When you're living through grief, trauma, or systemic oppression, practice might feel far away — or even inaccessible. Yoga doesn’t ignore this. It includes it.

Yoga holds both grief and joy. Resistance and rest. Survival and softness.

It makes space for you to come home in any way you can — even if that means sitting in silence for 30 seconds or simply breathing with awareness while washing the dishes.

Coming back doesn’t mean starting over. It means remembering who you are.

A Gentle Invitation to Restart Your Yoga Practice with Support

If you’re ready to reconnect with your practice — or curious about what a supportive, personalized rhythm could look like — I invite you to schedule a free 1:1 Clarity Session.

We’ll explore small, compassionate steps to build a practice that supports your nervous system, your life, and your long-term wellbeing.

👉 Book your free Clarity Session

You are always allowed to begin again.

And now, the yoga begins.