Where do I find time for yoga when I have so many other things to manage in my life? Sadhguru answers this seeker's question and goes on to explain how anyone can integrate yoga as a part of their life, regardless of their schedule.

Questioner: Pranams Sadhguru. I get up at 6:00 AM…

Sadhguru: I am sorry?

Questioner: I get up at 6:00 AM, hurry the cooking, get the children ready, start by 8.30am to the office, back from the office by 6.30, then freshening up the children, myself, prayer, cook food, homework, sleep. In this hectic schedule, where can I fit yoga in my life?

Sadhguru: Now you get up at 6 o’clock, and whatever time you go to bed. You have a busy day. Where is the time for yoga? You have time to eat, you have time to gossip, you have time to work, you have time to take care of everything, but you have no time to take care of yourself. That’s what you’re telling me. Now this attitude is like you try to act like a martyr all the time. I have no time for myself; I am giving myself totally to everybody. What is it that you’re giving? Your agitations, irritations, your anxieties, passing it on to children, isn’t it? If you’re really, really concerned about your children, if you are truly concerned about your children, creating a joyful and loving atmosphere for their growth is most important. Not providing them shiny boots, not providing them better clothes, not providing them video games, not providing them something else is important. You creating an atmosphere of joy and love around them on a daily basis, moment to moment, is more important than all the nonsense that you’re providing. Isn’t it so? Isn’t it so? Yes or no?

So what is your focus about life? If you’re able to manage your work and your children, everything, do it. If you’re unable to, do what you can do. Everybody can only do that much, isn’t it? You want to do everything in the world, you will definitely go insane. How much you can do, each individual has to decide. Somebody may be able to get up at 6 o’clock and do all these things joyfully. Somebody else is not able to do. Accordingly they have to adjust their life, isn’t it? Now you have gotten into all this not because that’s what you want to do; you are trying to be like somebody else. That’s your whole problem. You want to have what other people have. You don’t know whether you really need it or not. With all this work, what you have earned, your children, your husband, your wife, or whatever, you are no more enjoying it. Then why do you need all this?

All these things you created because you thought this is the source of your joy, isn’t it? But right now that has become the source of your anxiety and misery. Then you better look at the fundamentals of your life once again, isn’t it? Isn’t it so? You got educated, you found a job, you married, you produced children, all this, why? Because you thought this is going to be the source of your happiness and well-being. Isn’t it so? But now that is taking your life. If it is so, you must look at it. One thing is maybe, if you’re incapable of handling it, maybe you have to scale it down. If you’re capable of enhancing your capabilities, you must do that.

Now, if you invest, let us say even 30 minutes a day into your yoga, you will see you will gain immensely, even in terms of time. One, first thing that’ll happen is, your sleep quota will come down. Now if you’re sleeping for eight hours a day, that means one third of your life you are sleeping it off, isn’t it? One third of your life, you are just sleeping it off. If your body and your mind is more energized and active your sleep quota will naturally come down. So if you gain three, four hours a day, just in terms of wakefulness, that’s a huge thing, isn’t it? Apart from that, if your body and mind was more organized, you would see... What I have found with people is, with simple process of yoga. Within six to eight weeks, lot of them, their level of performance becomes such, what they were doing in eight hours, they’re very easily able to do it in three to four hours. Simply because, if you observe yourself through the day, suppose we take a video of your whole day without you being aware of it, you will notice how much unnecessary movement and unnecessary words and unnecessary activities are happening in your life. You must do it one day. Please hire a video camera man and ask him to shoot you without you knowing about it. You will see how many unnecessary things you are doing in a day.

If your mind became more organized, these unnecessary words, these unnecessary actions, these unnecessary things will disappear. Once they go away, you have lot of time. You have 24 hours to live, you know? Now we don’t have to make this into 26 hours, 24 hours are enough. We can do a lot in 24 hours. If we are organized and focused human beings, we can do plenty in 24 hours time. If you’re disorganized and unfocused, you think there is no time. Most of you are not busy; you’re just preoccupied, aren’t you? Isn’t it so? Isn’t it so? Just too much preoccupation in the mind. So whoever the lady, please invest this half an hour a day. Get up at 5:30, okay? And you will see, suddenly the quality of your life will be very different. Don’t go on with this argument, ‘I have no time.’ Make time and see, it’ll make a huge difference.