For many of us, our involvement in yoga begins when we first walk into a group class at a yoga studio or gym. It’s pretty easy to understand why yoga classes are so popular—a yoga class is a conveniently timed slice of serenity, in which you can slip into a peaceful environment free from distraction for some ‘you time’.
Your yoga teacher has it all under control—from the relaxing music to the mood lighting, and you’re guided through a sequence of postures and offered modifications to suit your body. Sometimes, though, it can be tricky to find the time to get to a yoga class as often as you may like.
Imagine, then, if you could practice yoga at home, on your own time, and get the same blissful benefits as attending a group class. A home practice is a great way to bring yoga into your daily life, and experience it in a different way.
However, sometimes it can feel a little bewildering to try to manifest all that yogi goodness on your own in your messy bedroom, so read on for some tips on how to develop a home yoga practice.
1. Create a Space
One of the major obstacles I’ve encountered in my home practice is the issue of where to actually roll out my yoga mat and get down to business. Sharing a two-bedroom townhouse with my significant other, I don’t have a dedicated yoga/meditation room with a door that can be closed and allow me to practice in private.
I have used this lack of ‘yoga space’ as an excuse to avoid my practice more times than I can count! However, at the end of the day, it’s not your physical space that matters—it’s the space you’re creating with your breath and awareness, and this can happen virtually anywhere.
As long as you’re not going to bump into any table legs or door frames, your space for practice need only be the size and shape of your yoga mat. That being said, a few small adjustments can help to create more presence in your home yoga space.
Perhaps you would like to experiment with placing a few candles, some incense, an image that inspires you and helps you to focus, or some mala beads together to create a small altar. You might like to set up a speaker dock so you can play music that helps you tune in to your space.
Like everything else in your practice, creating a comfortable space for your yoga at home takes trial and error, and above all a willingness to keep showing up.
2. Set a Time Frame
When you self-regulate your practice, there’s nobody there to keep track of how much time has passed, the way a teacher normally would. So I find it helpful to set myself a timer for my practice, so that I know I can relax into it without having to constantly check the clock.
I’ll normally set two timers: one to cue me when it’s time to move into Savasana, and another to bring myself out of Savasana. One of the many handy features of your smartphone is the large range of alarm tones available, so you can set a gentle harp sound rather than a blaring foghorn–the latter might not be quite as congruous with your practice!
3. Move Your Body
Once you’ve established a nice space for yourself, and set a time frame for your practice, you may find yourself sitting on your mat scratching your head and wondering what to actually do. Simplicity is key when it comes to sequencing your own yoga practice.
Just start with what you know, and go from there! Warm up with some Sun Salutations, play around with some balancing poses, maybe throw in a few backbends and some slow hip openers to finish. If you’re short on time, you can perform just a few Sun Salutations, or you could take a yin approach, focusing on just one or two poses with longer holds.
The key here is to listen to your body and mind. Set aside the ego, avoid practicing only poses that you feel you’re already ‘good at’, and give yourself a balanced practice, just the same as you would in a class.
4. Check Yourself
You can do a hundred handstands while the television blares away in the background, but the truth is, if you’re not applying a single-minded focus to what you’re doing, you’re not actually practicing yoga. The difference between stretching and yoga is what’s going on upstairs–and if the lights aren’t on, nobody’s home!
Our goal during asana practice is to be mentally present on our mats and focus on our breathing while we move from one posture to another. This can be trickier than it sounds, particularly in a home environment. It’s easy to let our gaze wander whilst in Warrior II past the tips of our fingers, and to the pile of unfolded laundry on the couch.
This is where you, the yoga practitioner, have a choice: follow the path of distraction to its logical end by ceasing your practice and folding the laundry (or at least moving it out of sight), or accept the challenge to shift your focus back to your breath, body and sankalpa (intention).
It’s completely normal (and virtually guaranteed) to initially experience more distraction whilst practicing at home than in a group class at a studio. However, this is also the beauty of home practice. If you can apply the principles of mindfulness, presence in the moment, and self-acceptance in this environment, you can apply them anywhere!
In our busy lives, flexibility is the key to success with any daily pursuit. The beauty of yoga is that you really can take it anywhere with you – all you need is your yoga mat and a willingness to tune in to yourself. By cultivating a home practice, you can bring the mental and physical benefits of a yoga class into your daily life, and experience your yoga in a new and beautiful way.
Image credit: Holly Norman
