how to establish a steady home practice
bringing yoga home
Sometimes trying to make yoga studios schedules fit yours is a nightmare! They can be either too early or too late and somehow, they just never seem to fit; but that must never stop you from practicing yoga. Yoga is not about unrolling your mat in front of 10 people to make it count. It’s a personal practice that you can do in any free space you may find and once you are committed to your practice, the lack of a fancy space won’t stop you from practicing.
Here are the main points to consider starting a home practice:
Commit to yourself – Yoga is a personal practice where the only important person is you. Make a moral contract with yourself where you establish an achievable schedule to practice yoga; if you are a beginner and say “I will practice yoga 2 hours 7 days a week” then I’s not going to be long before you ditch yoga. Be realistic!
Chose a spot – Decide where you are going to practice yoga from now on. It doesn’t have to be a fancy spot, as long as it has enough space for you to make inversions and twists.
Make it a ritual – Make it something that you do every day before going to bed or going to work in the morning, make it a part of your daily routine.
Choose the material – On the internet there are tons of free yoga videos, there are some online studio projects where you just pay a minimum amount of money each month and you receive tons of online classes; you can also find a good book or printable ready made routines. My advice? If you are a beginner it’s best if you choose video classes that explain every movement in a detailed way.
Research – Read about yoga first, find people that already have a home practice, look for blogs of people sharing their experience, read about yoga, especially if you are a beginner, so that you are aware of which poses are good to start your practice with and which ones are better to avoid if you have certain illnesses or injuries.
Warm up – Always warm up at the beginning of your practice otherwise you may hurt yourself and blame yoga; it’s very important, especially in the morning, to warm up a little with some stretches and sun salutations. If you choose sun salutations, you may repeat this for four or five times before starting with your current routine.
Enjoy – This is a moment that belongs to you and only you. It’s a time to connect with yourself and to let all the worries behind at least for while; you have all day long to worry about those noisy neighbors.
Keep in mind that yoga is not a 2 hour daily practice; you don’t have to be on your mat a certain amount of time to call it yoga, yoga is the effort that you do to calm your mind and to bring your senses to awareness. It’s a state of mind more than a particular amount of time of practice.
The most important practice of yoga is the one you do off your mat everyday at every moment, be compassionate, be calm, be authentic and enjoy your home practice.
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