6 simple tips for practicing yoga at home

Yoga magazineQ archives The series is a curated collection of articles originally published in previous issues beginning in 1975. This article about practicing yoga at home first appeared in the January-February 1994 issue of Yoga magazine.

Over the past four years, I have led perhaps 20 introductory yoga courses to over 200 people. Whatever their reason for coming, these women and men have one thing in common: they’re looking for something that will make their lives better. The first challenge they face in class is to shape themselves, physically and mentally, into unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable positions. Their second challenge, once they return home, is to apply their new knowledge in their daily lives.

Yogis stress the importance of experience gained through regular practice – and regular practice depends on commitment. Traditionally, this commitment was made when a carefully selected student was formally inducted into the discipline by his teacher or spiritual mentor.

Nowadays, of course, yoga classes are available to everyone, and we can come and go as we please. Such freedom, although it opens the door wide to yoga, comes at a price: most of us lack a trusted mentor to closely monitor our daily practices, and without this direct support on a daily basis, it is often difficult to sustain the necessary efforts.

Tips for practicing yoga at home

Here are some tips that have helped my students — and me — create and maintain a regular daily practice.

1. Keep it simple

Make the commitment simple and manageable at first. It’s better to consistently work out for 15 minutes every morning than to enthusiastically commit to an hour, then stop working out after a few days because you can’t get yourself out of bed early enough. Start modestly, and decide to practice for 20 to 30 minutes daily– or whatever seems realistic – for a month or so. At the end of that period, reevaluate your commitment.

2. Choose the time

Set aside a specific time and place for your daily practice, away from TVs, phones, and all the people who don’t practice yoga. There is no “right” time to practice: what’s important is to be consistent. Soon, your body and mind will be eagerly anticipating your yoga practice at the usual time, and your belly will regularly remind you that it’s time to eat.

3. Practice with a friend

Try to practice with a partner or close circle of friends who can offer some humor and a balanced perspective on the inevitable ups and downs of your daily efforts. Just make sure you keep chatting to a minimum – you’re together to encourage each other in your commitment, not to socialize.

4. Learn more about yoga

You might appreciate your practice more if you read something about the long and fascinating history and philosophy of yoga. The best source of information I know is Sacred paths By George Feuerstein.

5. Choose focus

Go into each training session with a specific focus or structure. The structure of the practice—what postures it includes and in what order—can vary infinitely. In the meantime, ask your teacher to suggest some simple actions that might be appropriate for your level. If you don’t have a teacher, consult a yoga book, video, or… Yoga magazine For practice suggestions.

A number of good books are also widely available to enrich your physical practice: the one I know best and the one I recommend for beginners is The runner yoga book By jean couch. A different but equally valuable approach is presented in Yoga for body, soul and mind By A.G. Mohan.

6. Don’t forget Savasana

No practice is complete without relaxation at the end, which is done in the aptly named Corpse Pose (Savasana). In Savasana, we give ourselves time to fully integrate what our body, mind, and spirit have experienced into our practice.

Ideally, you should spend at least five minutes in the corpse for every 30 minutes of training.

Keep in mind

Yoga is often defined as “balance” or “balance,” embodied in the complementary aspects or “poles” of the practice. Active electrode requires strength and perseverance. Its receptive complement calls for calm or Detachment– As he put it Bhagavad Gita“Look at success and failure with the same perspective.” In our practice, we should try to reconcile effort or action with acceptance or presence, and then strive to integrate these two qualities into our lives once we leave the yoga mat.