How to Start Doing Yoga at Home
If you’ve tried for the past three years to make it to that 5:30PM Yoga class after work or always end up hitting snooze for that 6AM Rise’n’Shine class you aren’t alone. Making a yoga studio schedule work with your work, family, and social calendar is almost impossible not to mention stressful. But have no fear, there is another way! The answer is a home Yoga practice!
Not sure where to start? Don’t worry below is a checklist of what you need to make this work. Yoga should be accessible regardless of your impossible schedule.
Below are 5 important steps to starting an in home yoga habit. Some of these tips may sound obvious, but it’s often the small stuff that trips us up along the way.
1. MAKE SPACE
So this may seem like a no brainer but you actually have to make physical space in your home in order to practice yoga there. You won’t want to commit to your new yoga habit if you always have to lift a heavy coffee table to one side of the room and then back again time after time. You’ll need a space slightly bigger than your yoga mat, so you can move around without fear of kicking or knocking something over. This may seem difficult in NYC but with a little creativity you can make it happen! Go for a less is more approach and let go of that uncomfortable couch no one sits on and donate your old magazine collection to your nieces and nephews who need collage supplies. This way you’ll get to update your apartment and learn yoga. If you need extra support with this contact my friend Sarah Grace, founder of Embrace your space; an amazing personal organizer who makes your space work for you!
2. GET SUPPLIES
Again duh? But if you don’t like the way your yoga mat feels you won’t practice. If you hate the way those brightly colored foam yoga blocks look they will eventually find themselves from the shelf to the very back of the closet. And we all know there is no way you are going to choose tight, itchy yoga pants over staying in your PJs and bingening your favorite netflix show. So get some gear you like, trade in your bargain bin yoga mat for something a little more high quality. Maybe pair your mat with some elegant cork blocks that don’t clash with your apartment decor, and try out a yoga clothes subscription service so you can figure out what style and sizes work best for you. Most importantly don’t let your yoga gear or lack of it get in the way of you gaining more flexibility and less stress!
3. SCHEDULE
Okay, you’re going to have to actually make time in your schedule to make this work. Often when we are developing a new habit and we are faced with a choice of doing something else, something more familiar; we are more likely to choose what we know over the new habit we are trying to create. It’s unfortunately just how our psychology works. This means if you want to start a new habit like practicing yoga at home twice a week, etc. you are going to have to google calendar, do not disturb, out of the office your life for that hour or however long you are going to do yoga. Pretend your at home yoga time is the most important meeting you have that week. After all the most important person for us to take care of is ourselves.
4. FIND RESOURCES
Unless you are already a yoga teacher, I’m guessing you’re going to need some support in creating your in-home yoga sessions. You will need to figure out what style, poses, breathing etc. works best for you. Depending on what your needs are, there are many resources you can turn to for help. You may want to consider researching instructional yoga books, videos, or even consider hiring a private yoga instructor to work with you 1:1. Regardless of what you choose as your main form of support you may want to consider supplementing your practice with other resources. Many of the private yoga clients I work with see one of our private instructors 2-3x per week and practice yoga videos or yoga homework given to them by their personal yoga instructors. Make sure you have enough info and resources to keep your yoga practice fresh, inspiring, and most importantly safe.
5. ACCOUNTABILITY
This one is major, don’t underestimate accountability! As stated above, making a new habit can be super difficult. As adults we pursue what we already know, like, and trust leaving very little room for a new habit to thrive. While you are learning to know and like your new habit, it is extremely important to practice some form of accountability. This can be in the form of having an accountability partner, an app, a journal, scheduled time with a private yoga teacher, etc. Whatever you do makes sure the form of accountability you choose works for you. If you don’t like using a cell phone I don’t recommend committing to tracking your progress on an app, maybe aim for check-ins with a close friend or family member instead. This is your yoga practice so make sure every part of it works for you not against you.
By following these five guidelines, I hope you will be able to start, maintain, and fall in love with yoga. Once you create the habit I am confident the benefits will be enough motivation to keep your yoga practice on the right track!
The most important guideline not mentioned above is safety. Always consult your doctor and other healthcare providers before starting a physical exercise program. If you are a beginner learning yoga for the first time it’s a smart decision to work with a skilled private yoga instructor in order to learn proper alignment and safety. With any practice listening and honoring your body is always the best policy.
