How to Start a Home Yoga Practice That Rivals a Class

Yoga classes are the ideal situation. When most of us think of getting into yoga, we envision going to a class. That’s how yoga is portrayed in TV and movies, as well.

It’s always about a class with a great (and usually hot) instructor and having “yoga friends” and whatnot. The reality isn’t usually the case though.

There are a lot of yoga classes out there, no doubt. But the stars have to align to make them viable options for many of us.

• First of all, there’s the cost. Yoga classes aren’t cheap, and that’s okay. But not everybody has the disposable income to be able to afford it.
• Second of all, the times of the classes or their location might not be convenient for your schedule.
• Third of all, your schedule may not be regular enough to ensure that you can be there at every class meeting.

What this boils down to is that a lot of us need to practice at home if we’re going to practice at all.

Home practice gets kind of a bad name. It takes a lot of discipline to make sure you practice at home regularly.

This is especially true if you can’t have a designated “yoga area” at home to practice at. This can kind of take you out of the moment and into the reality that when you’re done, that area will transform back to being just your bedroom again. Blech!

Give Home Practice Another Chance

But what if I told you that there is a way you can create a fruitful home practice that feels just like it would if you were in a class?

What if I told you that there were some tips you could incorporate into your home practice that made it feel more legit? I bet that’d be some great news!

Well, buckle your seatbelts because it is true!

There are also some unique benefits to a home practice that a class can’t offer.

• For one, you can practice naked. ( check our post about why you should ditch your yoga pants haha)
• Second, you can be smelly and dirty, and nobody will care.
• Third, you don’t need to have any competition and can just be totally comfortable.
• And last but not least, you’ll be able to have a more intimate and meaningful practice. That last one makes a home yoga practice extremely rewarding.

So, if you’d love to have a home yoga practice but are a little skeptical about it, this argument is 100% for you! We’re going to go over the four reminders that you can use to make your home yoga practice as amazing as possible!

Setting Up A Home Practice That Works

1. Understand that you won’t be able to perfectly replicate the vibes of a class.
   
   However, yoga doesn’t need a fancy area to be practiced. That’s not how it was traditionally practiced. Where you are now was good enough for the original yogis, and it’s good enough for you. Find a place in your home that will be quiet for the time that you’ll be practicing, somewhere that’s warm and calm as well. Some people practice in their bathroom. You can also practice in your bedroom or your living room. The key is quiet. You need somewhere that will be the antithesis of chaos for the time being. That’s all.
   
   
2. Understand that yoga is an ongoing action, not a place.
   
   Yoga is what happens when you focus on the moment and just breathe. It’s not a class, it’s not what you think it is supposed to be. It’s just about being there with yourself and existing in the moment. Poses are there just to help us do that. So, even if you don’t have a ton of time or room to dedicate to warrior poses and inversions, that’s totally okay. Stick with the basics like corpse pose, sun salutations, and other easy poses and that will be enough. Just connect to yourself, breathe, and be. That’s all you need.
   
   
3. Let go.
   
   Yoga at home might not be as perfect as in a class. You might have a pet jump on you, you might be interrupted by a hungry child or a spouse that lost their keys. You might struggle with meditation and have a busy mind. You might mess up a pose and knock over a mug. It’s okay. It doesn’t have to be perfect at all. Let go of the idea of perfection and just allow yourself to be and do. That in itself is freeing, and it embodies the entire point of yoga!
   
   
4. Open yourself up.
   
   One aspect of yoga is about discovering and understanding ourselves. This is possible during home yoga even if it feels like you can’t escape your daily life because this is where it all goes down. But yoga at home has a greater power for this than yoga in a class because we’re facing our truth. Our home tells a lot about us and doing yoga there pushes us to be face to face with who we are in the majority of our life. The same can’t be said for a class where we’re all on our best behavior and are all trying to embody that yogi spirit that we all idealize. It’s about opening yourself up to who you really are, accepting that person, and loving them unconditionally.

Home Practice is Important

While there definitely are some amazing benefits to a class environment for yoga, the big picture here is that home yoga cultivates a better and bigger bond to ourselves.

Home yoga is about so much more than mastering poses and having great yoga pants. It’s about more than making like-minded friends and sharing a zen zone with your pals. It’s about you through and through.

Have faith in your home yoga practice and it will reward you ten-fold. Trust me, trust yourself, trust in your practice!

Namaste.

The yoganum family