I started practicing yoga at home watching videos on youtube, a year passed before I went to a teacher in person, a year in which I tried to establish a solid home practice, sometimes with difficulty and other times with more determination.
Even after finding a teacher who could guide me, my practice has always remained predominantly home.
Practicing in the atmosphere of a yoga studio, together with other people, certainly gives different vibrations compared to the solitude of the practice at home, however there are several reasons that often push us to make a different choice.
The first reason is certainly the financial commitment, in fact often attending a yoga studio regularly can be a little expensive.
Another reason may be the lack of time, if the yoga studio is not exactly close to home, reaching it may take time that we do not always have available, between work, family and the many commitments of each day, or we simply we like to practice yoga at home for convenience: we can unroll the mat at any time, do our practice and then relax or take a shower without having to immerse ourselves in city traffic or take a train or a bus.
In this article I want to give you some tips that have helped me to establish a yoga practice at home overcoming the initial difficulties.
6 tips for starting and maintaining a home yoga practice
1. What do you need to get started
All you need to get started is a mat that allows you to perform the practice comfortably, that has a good grip and is not too slippery, and comfortable clothing that allows you to move freely between the postures.
You may need some props, such as bricks, a belt, a pillow, a blanket, tools that will support your practice when you need it; for example to perform positions in different variants, to help you in new postures if you are a beginner or to deepen your practice by taking it to a more advanced level.
2. Create your yoga space
Choose a place in the house where you feel well, which gives you peace of mind and where you can hardly be distracted, and create your yoga corner: place your mat, light a candle or incense, transform your corner into a small temple and create if you want a small altar that makes you feel connected to the spiritual part of the practice.
You can put pictures, a small Buddha statue, paintings, plants, whatever you want.
This will also be the place where you will do your meditation.
3. Create your routine
To establish a home practice it is very important to create a routine that helps keep distractions under control. Often, being at home can prove to be an obstacle for practice, precisely because you are at home: we have multiple distractions, we get caught up in laziness and abandoning our intent becomes extremely simple.
To make things easier, and if you have the opportunity, leave the mat unrolled in your yoga corner, or you can roll it up and leave it in the corner for your next practice, having a space always ready can encourage you to practice more easily.
Also always practice at the same time, or try, your body will get used to doing yoga at the same time every day, try to choose a time of day when you can practice, you can change the time but try to keep more or less always the same, without upsetting it too much.
4. Start gradually
Always respect your body, especially during the early days, when you are new to practice and not yet accustomed to certain movements. Yoga is a path, there is no destination to reach, so start with sequences suitable for your level of practice, perhaps practicing 10-15 minutes a day and gradually increasing the time dedicated to the practice and the difficulty of the sequences.
This will help your body open naturally, without forcing, building a solid foundation for your practice.
Furthermore, it is not necessary to practice 6 days a week, especially if you are starting now, start with a day or two a week, and increase them gradually according to the time you have available and your energy. Setting too high goals, which you will not be able to achieve, will make you feel as if you have failed, demotivating you. On the contrary, instead, creating realistic and achievable goals will keep you motivated along your path.
5. Take advantage of the internet
We live in an era where videos exist for anything, let’s take advantage of it! The beauty of practicing yoga at home is that it is possible to do it practically at no cost. Youtube offers a huge amount of videos that can guide you in your practice, teachers from all over the world who make their resources available for free. There are also several paid channels for practicing yoga that are very convenient, paying a small monthly fee you can have access to a lot of content. There really is something for every need.
6. Practice with a friend
Practicing together with a friend, or joining an online community, can help you stay motivated along your path. Sharing your feelings, difficulties and progress with someone else will only be good for your practice.
To establish a home yoga practice it can be helpful to have a reference teacher to attend from time to time, who can guide you and help you develop a more solid practice. There is no need to go to the studio every week or every month, you can practice alone at home and go to a teacher after a few months, in the meantime you will have focused on her/his teachings and you will be able to see the progress of your practice together.
Have you already tried to implement any of these tips? Do you have any other useful tips that can help to get started practicing yoga at home? Let me know in the comments!