It is sometimes exceptionally difficult to attend public, in-studio yoga classes with any form of regularity, whether it be financial difficulties, time commitment, lack of quality nearby studios, or even simply some level of self-consciousness in your practice. With the fitness-focused social media community growing at a breakneck pace, content and other educational resources are seemingly always at your fingertips. This movement has in a way pulled the veil off fitness and removed misconceptions that exercise is exclusive to being physically present at a gym. As a result, an in-home program of fitness is more accessible than ever, and this applies very much so to yoga. The amount of educational resources lends itself to a potentially very successful practice, especially in light of the aforementioned factors that often prevent us from in-studio appearances.
However, making the transition from an in-class student to a committed home practitioner is quite often a difficult one, and this holds true for some of the most experienced students. Even if throughout the day at work, school or another wait-friendly location, you are scrolling through your Pinterest/Tumblr/Instagram/Twitter/etc and liking or taking screenshots of all the yoga guides, GIFs, and videos in the world, filing them away for future reference, it doesn’t necessarily translate to you doing said inspiring poses later on at home. Sometimes once you get into the somewhat enabling comfort of home, there is often a mental block which prevents you from physically carrying through all your greatest intentions.
I have realized this in my own practice and found through much trial and error that I have two essential keys to a quality home practice.
1. Plan out your routine ahead of time.
Whether it be writing it out or memorizing it, it’s best to approach your early home practice with some planning for the sequence. I.e. “I want do the following poses and sequences to work on this particular area of my body.” Without this for me, I have a difficult time maintaining the flow of the practice without stopping after every pose, grabbing my phone and trying to see what else I think I might want to work on. It prevents disruptive thought and helps you shy away from answering interruptions. Your plan can change based on how your body is feeling, but a base sequences keeps you focused and committed to the practice.
And my second key is the most important one to me:
2. Roll out the mat!
Personally there is nothing more significant than this rule. The mat, to me, represents focus and a commitment to quieting your mind from the outside world to give yourself completely to this practice and moment. When you are struggling to follow through, the mat represents a level of “I better take this seriously” and pour myself entirely into the best practice possible.
Sometimes magic happens without the mat because of course you don’t absolutely need a mat to do yoga; no one is going to suddenly appear to stop you from doing mat-free yoga and force you onto the mat. And we know there’s no limit to where you can do yoga. (See below: @Yoga_Girl, Rachel Brathen, has perfected the global handstand! =) ) I’ve had moments where the magic happens at home without it, but I find the most consistent best practice often comes in the safety net of the mat.
While these two keys have been vital to my own personal practice, they may not be perfect for all. In particular, it should be noted that a home practice can be extremely difficult, perhaps not even impossible, for new students. Severe inexperience at home in the beginning can harm your practice later down the road. As much as we’d like to sometimes avoid it, we do need the adjustments from the teachers for safety of your body, growth in practice and for reaching the fullest and most beneficial expression of each pose. Personally, I waited until I had made enough progress in class for an extended period of time before I attempted to duplicate and then progress further at home. Of course, as mentioned before, with the almost unavoidable presence of yoga knowledge on the internet, this could be different for everyone.
As always, starting a yoga practice, especially if you are brand new to exercise, should be done in consultation with a physician or other trusted certified individual. These are simply tokens from my own journey towards a better, more complete, and wholly restorative yoga practice.
Photo credit: Rachel Brathen again. Absolutely my favorite yoga instructor on the internet, so much inspiration and light – a true delight to follow.
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