Creating a Sustainable At-Home Yoga Practice
When you’ve got a tight budget or busy life attending regular yoga classes can be challenging. Even package rates at studios put a dent in your wallet, and isn’t it ironic when struggling to squeeze sessions into your busy schedule actually increases the stress you’re trying to reduce with your practice. Moving your yoga routine out of the studio and under your own roof alleviates these problems while opening new avenues for deepening your practice.
Prepare Your Home
Possibly the most important consideration when practicing yoga at home is finding an area that's as distraction-free as possible. Close the door if others are around, turn off your phone ringer, the radio and TV and find focus for this important time.
Although doing yoga at home requires less square footage than many other wellness activities, you still need to be able to move freely. Carve out enough room to allow for full arm and leg extension while seated, standing and laying down. Because little equipment is required, aim to store yours near your practice area, so there’s little setup involved whenever you're ready to start. After acquiring the right yoga mat for you, round out your props with a strap and a block or two, and you’re all set for an at-home session!
I highly recommend including nature in your space; go outside if you can, or set your mat up by a window. Just having some houseplants can make it a more sweet and beautiful space to practice in. Choose a place that's illuminated by invigorating natural light or perhaps a dimmer spot to foster relaxation. Find more tips on how to bring more nature into your home practice and reasons why it’s important here.
Plan Your Practice
Doing yoga at home is perfect if you don’t have much free time in your schedule, especially if you work a lot or are helping to raise kids or grandkids. Your practice could be as long or as short as you have time for that day. There is often a myth that we have to do yoga for 60 minutes or more, because that's what most yoga classes are in gyms and studios, but you can find benefits from as little as a few minutes a day.
Practicing at home doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Whether you do yoga for fitness, mental well-being, or spiritual enlightenment today’s tech provides easy access to a wide range of classes and sequences. Browse video-hosting websites, health magazines, and skill-sharing platforms to find the right program for you. Check out my online yoga schedule. And, follow along with my free online guided meditations.
If you have been practicing yoga for a while with a teacher, you can also create your own sequences and routines to fit your needs at the moment. That is the beauty of a home practice! Just listen to your body/mind and breath, move and meditate intuitively with poses, breath practices and meditations you are already familiar with and feel safe doing.
Take It to the Next Level
Doing yoga at home makes it easier to deepen your holistic practice through additional self-care, and integrating your holistic lifestyle into the rest of your life. When we feel healthy and invigorated by our yoga practice, making smarter choices about diet and lifestyle come more easily. This could look like eating a more plant-based diet or having the support to create better relationships with yourself and others.
With only a small amount of prep work, it’s easy to move your yoga routine out of the studio and into your home. By practicing in your own space, you’ll save money and time and you’ll uncover more opportunities to engage in holistic activities that serve to deepen your yoga experience.
Article by Sierra Wagner and Patricia Sarmiento