#Yogaeverydamnday. It’s a common hashtag used by bikini clad, beach going yogis the world over.

We’ve all seen this hashtag Instagrammed or tweeted and had that wistful thought, “yeah right, maybe when I retire“. C’mon, who’s with me?

Yoga Every Damn Day—you would love nothing more, right? How blissful to start every morning with a two hour vinyasa class and finish with a gentle, restorative practice. How incredibly indulgent and wonderful it would be to meditate daily.

And you hear of people doing it, right? We have all heard of people who meditate for hours daily, people who get up 5 AM to Sun Salute their way through the morning. We see images of people practicing yoga plastered everywhere, read articles about how other people make time to practice yoga and gather information on how to “make it a priority”.

Make no mistake—I am in awe of these people that Sun Salute or prioritize their practice. I think they are amazing.

I personally have a good, solid yoga practice, doing it on my own or attending classes regularly (three to four times a week). Until recently, however, I could not find a sustainable way to do yoga every single day.

I wanted to do it every damn day, just as I know that you want to do yoga every damn day, but it’s damn hard. Work, kids, family, friends, appointments, meetings and a million other things get in the way, right? I hear you. And yet, I’m making it happen. Let me share with you my very real secret to doing yoga every damn day.

The secret is simple, unbelievably simple.

In order to do yoga every single damn day, I have broadened my definition of yoga, expanding it to the holistic, traditional eight limbs version.

See, we often confuse ‘yoga’ with ‘asana’. Asanas are the poses, the shapes we move our bodies into in yoga classes, the physical part of yoga. And I love it. I love the flow, the stretch and strengthening of my body. But really, this is only one small part of yoga. Yoga, according to the ancient texts of Patanjali, has eight limbs, eight different aspects to heed in order to live a yogic lifestyle. These eight components are of equal importance when it comes to living mindfully:

1. Yama: Moral code (non-violence, truthfulness and not being materialistic)
2. Niyama: Personal observances (think contentment and self-study)
3. Asanas: Body postures (the one we all Instagram)
4. Pranayama: Breathing exercises
5. Pratyahara: Control of the senses (turning our attention inward)
6. Dharana: Concentration and cultivating inner awareness
7. Dhyana: Devotion, Meditation
8. Samadhi: Union with the Divine

The aim is to practice limbs one to five daily, and the sixth, seventh and eight limbs will follow as a result (although perhaps not in this lifetime).

Yoga is all of these things.

So how can we practice these eight limbs of yoga every day? How can we take these limbs and put them into real life? Take the Yama of truthfulness as an example. Truthfulness means not just telling the truth at all times (‘your butt does look big in that’). Nor is it as simple as telling the truth in a nice way (‘your butt looked better in the other jeans’). Truthfulness is a far deeper concept. Truthfulness is more like personal integrity.

Are you living a life where you are being true to yourself? Are you truly happy in your career and your relationships? Or are you kidding yourself, because change is hard and scary and you’re not quite ready for it? Are you kidding yourself that you will be happier if you just stick it out? Or are you making decisions every day that are putting you on a path to happiness? Are you actively taking steps towards finding a path that you love, that you truly are passionate about? This is truthfulness.

Last year, I was in a job that I was not happy in. I tried to pretend I was, tried to be positive in it and finally realized that something needed to change. So I quit. Now, I’m back studying something I am passionate about and working in a job I thoroughly enjoy to support myself throughout my studies. This is how I have been practicing yoga every damn day.

These limbs are all intertwined. When you truly support a non-violent cause, such as practice vegetarianism, support refugee groups or give to a charity, this is yoga.

When you find time to meditate and self-study, whether it be journaling, speaking to a friend about a problem or just going for a walk to reflect, this is yoga.

When you take a few deep, relaxing and reviving breaths after a stressful day and feel your breath simultaneously relaxing and energizing you, this is yoga.

And yes, when you put on your funky-arse leggings and spend that sweet, sweet hour or so flowing from asana to asana, this is yoga.

Yoga is eight limbs and to practice these limbs consciously is a lifestyle. Once you set up a yogic lifestyle, you will practice every damn day. By broadening our definition of yoga to one that Patanjali first outlined in the Yogic Sutras, we can truly practice yoga, holistically, every damn day and reap the very real benefits of a yogic lifestyle.

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Author: Stephanie Johnson

Editor: Alli Sarazen

Photo: Courtesy of Author