I am “Forrest Gumping” myself into getting some sort of system to
– blog daily
– do yoga daily
– get my daylight and exercise outdoor;
And then – a girl can dream! – it would be nice to actually get some work done as well.

Last week’s celebrational claim that I was finally feeling better and was no longer losing the first half of my day to sickness, proved to be as inspiring as it was prematurely.

So with the first hours of my day still being gnawed at, by Life;
And me STILL not being consistent with the only thing that prevents a slow start, which is to radically cap all social time, worktime, and screen time to 7 PM, and only do yoga and housekeeping in the evenings
(a sacrifice I am apparently not willing to make in full) (or at all);
Under those circumstances, what I consider to be “planning”, feels more like Forrest Gumping.

Or maybe as something that would have gotten better results, if I actually had stopped making it so complicated, trying to control things, and had just put one foot in front of the other.
After all, I don’t know if you are familiar with the movie, but Forrest Gump’s approach turned out to be very successful, and it brought him far in life.
And he did not make it as complicated as I do.

So I don’t think I do him justice when I say I m “Forrest Gumping” myself through these first days where I struggle to make the Daily Bon Jovi blog, as well as the daily yoga itself to become non-negotiable elements of my day for the rest of my life. 
Because Forrest would have given it less thought, and gotten it right.
Instead of giving it a lot of thought, and still getting it wrong.

“Entirely wrong?” I hear you say 😉 
No, not entirely.
I am doing daily yoga, it’s just that the blogging part requires more thought. The times I wrote it after 7 PM, I paid for it dearly by handing over the first half of the next day, to pay for my sins.

So I will spent the first available desk hour of my day to writing this blog.
And yoga after 7 PM, unless I have an evening activity, and then I ll do it earlier.

One important reason I am attached to doing yoga at night time, is because although as a writer I am free to plan my workhours as I like, most people work daytime hours.

If I would do my #dailybonjoviyoga during regular office hours, I think it would be less relatable, than if I set it up to have to fit a life that is not about yoga.

I want my daily yoga be squeezed in at the edges of a workday, so that we are all on the same page.

And since I do not have access to my mornings, and also because I love squeezing in as many desk hours before noon as I can (it used to work up to 6 hours before noon!), I will never choose the mornings to do yoga.
Although the morning is the most common time to yoga, traditionally. For both people who have jobs as well as for yoga teachers.

But I have chosen the night, the evening, to be the time I practice yoga, #dailybonjoviyoga.

I share all these ins and outs about when to practice, and what my reasons were behind it, because I want to illustrate the struggle of picking a time, the  struggle all of us who are not Forrest Gump, and who do not automatically choose right, might face;
As well as that I want to invite you to experiment with it. Try things out to get it right.

I don’t endorse micromanaging your day, but understanding the building blocks of your day, and moving them around until they work, pays off.
All your activities have an ideal time to be done;
And just saying “first things first” is a simplification.

You wouldn’t organize a rock concert at 11 AM. 
The same way committing to yoga may involve some juggling, finding the right timeslot when it rocks.

So within this process of juggling yoga, I found myself practicing the first Bon Jovi album, from 1984, yesterday at 10PM. 
It is only 38 minutes long, and I had chosen this album for its shortness.
And because I was feeling dizzy and unstable, I chose restorative yoga, which is the final page from our free download

Restorative yoga used to be a bit of a mixed bag to teach, in my video classes as well as a large portion of studio classes .
This is because they require quite some equipment, most notably a yoga bolster, which is a long sturdy pillow.

Where other yoga equipment, such as yoga blocks and yoga belts, can easily be replaced with a stack of books or a regular belt, the yoga bolster requires more work.
And most yoga studios I have worked in, with the exception of my own yoga studio, did not have bolsters for their students.
What I did in those studios, ideally, is to use two round, high, meditation cushions, instead of one bolster. But if I had a full class, there were not enough of them. 
So then I could not teach restorative yoga.

With the few full-length video classes I gave in 2020 I got more creative, and found a benefit of teaching online.
Because people at home can make a bolster by rolling up one or two blankets or sleeping bags, in a roll that is about a meter long.
IKEA also seems to be stocking bolster-esque pillows, currently. Mojlighet. But I have not seen them or tested these ones they are selling right now.

Sales of bolster-like pillows by IKEA have been erratic, and when they are for sale it sure pays off to get them while stocks last.
Pre-pandemic we have had three to five years without these pillows at IKEA.

But like I said, you can also roll up one or multiple blankets into a sturdy, one-meter long roll.

The yoga I did was the restorative yoga at the final page (schedule 8) page from our free download
But you can also check YouTube for “restorative yoga” or “yoga with bolster”, if you prefer to be guided.

restorative yoga, schedule 8 from our free download

There are 7 poses in the schedule, and 9 songs on the album Bon Jovi-Bon Jovi.

Practiced pose 1-5, in one-song-each fashion, with song 1-5.

Poses 6 (“backbend”) and 7 (“variation butterfly legs”) are backbends and I do not recommend holding them for a whole song. I practiced these poses during song 6 and 7, but by alternating them.
So let’s say pose 6 for a while, then 7, then back to 6, then 7. And so on.

I used song 8 and 9 for relaxation.

During practice my emotions went from feeling I was cutting corners because I wasn’t practicing standing poses, or other what I would consider “real” yoga poses, and had chosen for the shortest Bon Jovi album and the easiest set of poses;
To one of understanding this was really all it took.

That “only” doing restorative poses, is really all the yoga anyone ever really needs to make a change in health, relaxation, stress-release.
And that 38 minutes is more than enough.

All those years where I struggled to find a practice, and even to an extend the most recent years where I start-stopped doing Bon Jovi yoga, or Rock Star Yoga.
The years where instead of keeping it simple, I thought about it, got frustrated, didn’t feel it, and so on.

Yesterday, doing this 38 minute restorative yoga practice with a ten year old IKEA bolster, doing the easiest most relaxing poses I knew, I realized;
This is really all it takes.

But Forrest Gump would have been able to tell you that 1600 words ago.

BON JOVI – BON JOVI, 1984, 38 MINUTES

This is the track list:

1.Runaway
Jon Bon Jovi, George Karak
2. Roulette
Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora
3. She Don’t Know Me
Mark Avsec
4. Shot Through the Heart
Jon Bon Jovi, Jack Ponti
5. Love Lies.
Jon Bon Jovi, David Rashbaum
6. Breakout
Jon Bon Jovi, David Rashbaum
7. Burning for Love
Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora
8. Come Back
Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora
9. Get Ready
Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora

Hitting the yoga mat tonight, probably with These Days.
And I will catch you tomorrow! 
.
~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer Nijmegen
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yoga journal Saturday February 12

starting time: 10 PM
duration: 38 minutes, 9 songs
🎶🎸 Bon Jovi cd:  Bon Jovi-Bon Jovi (1984)

type of yoga: I used our free download
Bon Jovi Yoga Set List 2.0 – yoga framework incl sticky men schedules
and practiced schedule 8 
8. lying butterfly or restorative yoga with props
9. long relaxation, final 2 songs, Come Back and Get Ready

About me:
After 2 years, I’m my old self again! | daily yoga kickoff
About Daily Bon Jovi Yoga and Rock Star Yoga: 
Uncovering Rock Star Yoga; A Journey

Sources Daily Bon Jovi Yoga:
1. free download, this is a 17 page guide
Bon Jovi Yoga Set List 2.0 – yoga framework incl sticky men schedules
2. White Tigress Yoga Workbook
You can find this book at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
3. Rock Star Yoga
Pure Rock Star Yoga is a free flowing form of movement (improvisation) without following a system. Just music.

************

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You can find the subscription button on this page, probably on the top right.

2 YouTube: Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
rebooting within days! -> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXpNMsIFP2U34A0yBKk8PUQ
As part of our work together, I will also be making Rock Star Yoga or #dailybonjoviyoga videos for this channel, scheduled for starting in June 2022.

3  YouTube: yoga met Suzanne Beenackers (Nederlands) 
start snel weer op -> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA81I4RdVvgtGK99T3Io3Ew

other:
yoga on YouTube by me:
PRO videos 2015 2016
Archive home yoga – English

Art & Popular Culture: World Between Worlds 
YouTube Rock Your Business

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
and A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

beginner friendly playlists from my channel:
I m currently restoring my older work. New yoga videos to support our Daily Bon Jovi Yoga / Rock Star Yoga are set for  late June.