What do you do on days when your body simply doesn't want to practice?

This morning was one of those mornings when my body simply did not want to get on the mat. My mind was all set to practice, but my body felt so sluggish and sleepy. I'm not sure if it was my weekend in Memphis. It probably was; over the weekend, I had succumbed to the temptation of burning the candle at both ends (sleeping later than usual and sleeping less, eating a bit more than usual, etc.), and it looks like my body was paying for it this morning. Eventually, I had to cut a deal with my body: I went back to bed and napped for about half an hour or so. Then I got back up and practiced. And I'm glad I did. Even though the Suryas felt a bit sluggish, by the time I got into standing, everything was just chugging along. And when I finished practice, I was my usual post-practice great self.

Maybe this is a good time to do something I haven't done in a while: Conduct a poll. You will find it in the top right-hand corner of this blog. The question is: What do you do on days when your body just doesn't feel like practicing? Please vote!

If your answer happens to be "drink some coffee"--actually, even if it isn't--you should also check out the following recent video by Kiki warning about the consequences of excessive coffee consumption on the adrenal glands. I think Matthew Sweeney said what amounted to pretty much the same thing in his book Astanga Yoga As It Is, when he warned that using coffee to wake up to practice is only a stop-gap measure, and ultimately doesn't address the root cause: Whatever it is that is making you tired.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not telling anybody to give up coffee (I love espresso too). But all this is definitely something to be mindful of.

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