Yoga and the Law of Inertia

Learn about the law of inertia and how it can help you in your yoga practice to stay active, fit, and healthy.

The law of inertia states, “an object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion.”

What that means for us is that once we get going we are more likely to keep going.

I hear students say all the time, "I just didn't want to get out of bed. I just didn't want to come to class. I didn't want to do my yoga but once I did I was so happy and it was easy."

The hardest part of a yoga class is showing up. In general, it’s difficult to get moving, to start, to begin. But once you do, the law of inertia takes over and the rest takes care of itself.

This is true even if you have an injury or an illness or something that makes it even more difficult to get going. One could argue it’s even more important in these cases. The law of inertia goes both ways. The longer you stay still, the longer that you are not in motion, the harder it is to get going again.

Rather than stopping completely, find something you can do to keep moving, even just a little. Chair yoga is a great option for this. You can modify the poses any way you need to. You can sit and just move the upper body or just move the lower body. You can even just breath. Maybe instead of running, you walk. Maybe instead of lifting weights, you just lift your arms.

Do what you can to keep moving, to keep that inertia going. And I really believe you will feel better.

Click here to take action, to get moving, and schedule your next yoga class.