How to Start a Daily Yoga Practice at Home
Life is busy. There are so many things we try to fit into a day and sometimes a yoga and meditation practice can feel like another thing we’re trying to fit in.
When I first started my own personal practice over 15 years ago, the first year was inconsistent. It was challenging to get to classes. I know that many beginners start in this space of inconsistent struggle.
So when you’re starting out, the best thing to do is remove as many of the obstacles and barriers as you can.
Practicing at home is one of the best ways to do this as you can slot it into your own schedule and avoid wasting time on travel.
To make your journey a smooth and effective one, you need a mentor. The great thing is you’re spoilt for choice.
join Virtual Yoga Classes in 2021!
Can you really practice yoga at home? 🤔
One of the silver linings of COVID 2020 has to be the ability to take virtual yoga classes in the comfort of your own living room.
It’s not just recorded sessions but real live yoga classes where the yoga teacher can see you and give you real time support and feedback!
I’ve been teaching yoga full time for over 14 years with the last 7 years in my own commercial yoga studio. If you told me I’d be running virtual classes I wouldn’t have believed you.
Running classes online means that students are safe and there is no fuss of driving, parking and so on.
The number of mums and health care providers taking my classes has increased, because it’s just so convenient.
I really believe virtual yoga classes are here to stay and they are a great way to ensure you’re practicing more often and seeing the benefits.
Yoga Has Been Shown To:
Increase flexibility, improve balance and of course, improve mental health.
However this list is so much more extensive… Improve cardiovascular health, reduce blood pressure. Improve sleep onset and quality. Reduce stress and anxiety. Reduce pain and inflammation in the body.
The right practice for you, done often enough can help your long term health and wellbeing.
Benefits of Doing Yoga at Home
BENEFIT # 1
Save time by setting up a yoga spot in your home. I have students that practice in their backyard, lounge room, or bedroom. It should be wherever you feel safe and comfortable. Save time by doing your meditation at home, making it a daily habit.
BENEFIT # 2
Freedom to do the poses you are comfortable doing. Practice the style and intensity that feels right for you on the day. Let’s face it some days you just need a yin practice to get you off to a good night sleep.
BENEFIT # 3
Doing yoga classes in the comfort of your home gives you a deeper sense of safety and quietness so that you can connect more deeply.
BENEFIT # 4
Flexibility to practice in your own time and for the duration that works for you. Practice in your lunch break, or right before bed to improve your sleep quality.
Why Should You Do Yoga Daily?
Top 5 Payoffs of a Daily Yoga Practice
REASON # 1
Yoga corrects your body posture. Practicing yoga daily can help in alleviating body aches and pains caused by too much sitting.
REASON # 2
Yoga tones your muscles and builds strength. This is essential for improving your energy levels, managing blood sugar levels, and maintaining health as you age.
REASON # 3
Yoga increases your sense of confidence. Many of the postures change how you can carry your body and in doing so impacts how you feel in your body.
REASON # 4
It will help keep your stress in check and your cortisol levels down. This is important especially now when we’re all very stressed and overwhelmed with rapid change.
REASON # 5
Yoga helps us sleep better. Research shows that yoga can improve our sleep quality and reduce insomnia.
You don’t need to do a whole hour every day, 20 minutes is enough to get results.
Things to Set-Up for Your Daily Yoga Practice
Find your yoga spot.
Space is important in doing your daily routine. Consider the comfort and the acoustics of the room. Ideally a spot where others don’t walk through.
Set a consistent time.
Be consistent since you are setting a routine for yourself. Don’t forget that you are doing this as part of your self-care and self-awareness. Sticking to a routine will help you de-stress from the hustle and bustle.
Find a teacher that speaks your language and follow the one method
Not all yoga is beneficial for everyone. You need to find the right teacher with a good amount of experience especially if you’re struggling with specific health concerns or old injuries.
Set a goal for your practice
Remember your why to help you get past the resistance. Whether you’re practicing for stress, losing weight or increasing flexibility, make sure you have a reason to why you’re doing this in the first place. Keep your focus so that you can get on track and stay the course.
It’s often the most consistent person that experiences success not the most intelligent. The repetition of practice will get you the results you want. So please remember to keep going! Don’t give up, I’m here cheering on you.
If you need more professional help in doing daily yoga at home, check out Online Yoga for the schedule of live online yoga that you can do at home.
styles of yoga you can practice at home
The sky is really the limit!
Every day we have a different live yoga class in a different style:
Monday- Yin yoga & meditation
Tuesday- Vinyasa yoga commonly referred to as flow yoga
Wednesday- Yoga barre— a fusion of yoga and pilates
Thursday- Yoga align— our beginners class. We introduce a new pose every week.
Friday- Gentle yoga— similar to a Hatha yoga class.
Saturdays- We hold special yoga events lately. Fascial release classes using
foam rollers and massage balls… it’s been amazing 😉
learn the basic yoga poses
This is essential for your confidence and progress in the practice.
If you’re new, you need to start with the beginners one and two course on the platform. This will set you up with a great foundation as each of the main yoga postures is broken down and explained in short 5-minute videos.
Moving at your own pace is easy as these courses are pre-recorded and then from there you can start attending the beginners live sessions or do the recordings from these each week.
Key basic yoga poses you need to learn:
Triangle Pose
Warrior 1, 2 & 3
Tree Pose
Bridge Pose
Baby Cobra
Downward Facing Dog
Child’s Pose
Diaphragmatic Breathing (not a pose but essential!)
