Simple Tips for Practicing Yoga at Home

Get in better touch with your yoga practice by rolling out your mat at home. An at-home yoga routine carves out a niche for yoga in your life by giving it a special time and place. Follow these simple tips to create the perfect yoga practice at home for you.

Setting Up Space- Your yoga space can be as elaborate or as simple as you desire. When creating your home yoga studio be sure to choose a time and a place that is both quiet and free of distraction. If you have a spare room you can use for yoga practice alone, even better. If not do not be afraid to straighten up a messy room, roll out your mat, meditate and begin.

Setting Goals- As with any movement practice it is good to set goals before beginning. The same holds true for a home yoga practice. While a short yoga session can work wonders for booting energy, banishing stress or inspiring sleep, decide before your first pose what your goal is for the current session. At home we can become easily distracted unlike in the studio which can take us away from our yoga practice.

Choosing Poses- One of the hardest considerations for home practice is which poses to do. Most practitioners choose the Sun Salutation for their home practice as this is easy to remember and widely taught. Intermediate practitioners may have custom routines in mind. Others may choose a body part or area for the day and do moves based on that. To start, select 4-5 poses and work through them, adding new ones in slowly.

Don’t Neglect Studio Time- Home practice can spoil you. There’s no wait in traffic to get to your studio. But do not let your home practice replace your studio time. Home practice will teach you a lot about your body and yoga practice, while studio time will give you the necessary time with an instructor who can help you fine-tune poses and teach you new ones.

Home practice cannot replace time spent with an instructor. Think of it as homework for yoga class. Even you only do a small bit of yoga at home each day it will still reward you with less stress, more energy and increased flexibility. Starting a home yoga practice is as easy as rolling out your mat.