The atmosphere you create at home!
Sure, it helps to have a great yoga instructor on your screen to be following, but the set-up you build for your home practice is a big factor in a successful (online) class.
Some folks can handle a bit of chaos around them (kids, partners, pets, noise, etc.), and in truth, being able to relax within the chaos, is the real challenge and practice of yoga! But, if we are honest with ourselves, we likely rest best in the quiet, and there’s nothing wrong with making your yoga practice easy on yourself and your nerves.
Creating a space of solitude might mean setting the family up with other “to-dos” and tell them you are not available for the hour. It might mean closing the door. Putting on soft music, and soft lighting. Cozying-in with pillows and blankets! You get to make your space, whatever you want or need it to be.
WORKING WITH TEMPORARY SPACE
Many online yoga students are working with one-hour a week where they lock themselves in their bedroom, and roll out their yoga mat, sandwiched between the bed and the door, hitting furniture as they move and stretch. I say – that’s amazing!! If you are that committed to squeezing in your yoga time, and that is all you have to work with, you have succeeded! I applaud all the busy folks making this time for themselves, however they can. No judgment here!
In fact, as you can see from the photo above, the space I create for myself to practice and teach is temporary. I set it up, and clean it up, every day. When you live in a small space, or shared space, you work with what you’ve got. I am in the process of trying to figure out a more permanent set up at home… I miss having that kind of sacred space, where the energy can linger and build and be returned to effortlessly.
CREATING PERMANENT SPACE
For those of you who do have a bit of extra space, where you can set up a more permanent home-practice, you should! Having a place where your mat is out and ready to be used makes a daily home practice that much easier. A practice that starts online with a teacher guiding you, is more likely to turn into a personal home practice if you can just step in the space and move or rest “on demand.”
I used to have a yoga corner with a small bookshelf, an alter, candles and crystals… My mat was always out, my props near by, even a chair so I could use it for a modified “legs up wall” pose. My yoga and philosophy books were easy to access, always inspiring me. I had images of Gods and Goddesses to remind me of my inner strength, and to help me connect to a higher power beyond me. Sometimes I would decorate with collages, art, or flowers. This sacred space was more than just stretching, it was a place I landed to read, write, meditate, and reflect. Or really, to help me remember who I am, what I needed, and my next steps in life. If your yoga is a spiritual journey, it is so much easier to stay on the path with a sacred space. If you use it. Daily.
If your yoga practice is for some weekly rest, reset, and wellness, then you likely don’t need or long for a permanent space, and that’s okay! Either way, you are gaining great benefits from practicing yoga at home.
But I do encourage you to make your space special for yourself. Even if that means placing a crystal on your mat before each class, or having a vase of flowers near by that makes you feel some joy, or a candle or mood lighting, or a drop of your favourite essential oil. Our yoga practice is multi-dimensional, and you get to make it whatever you want it to be, for you!
The Gentle Way of Hatha 