TIPS TO ESTABLISH A SUSTAINABLE HOME YOGA PRACTICE



What should we consider before practicing yoga at home?

Make sure you have eaten at least two hours before practicing yoga. The clothes you wear should be comfortable. You can choose to dress in layers because your body will be cold at the beginning of the practice. You can remove extra clothing as you warm up. Do not wear socks.

Since practice usually starts with warm-up, you do not have to especially warm your body, but if your body feels stiff, you can warm your joints a little with simple circular movements before practice.

How can we motivate ourselves to practice yoga at home?

Yoga is for everyone. Everyone can practice yoga and benefit from it. It doesn’t matter how fit, strong, flexible or old you are. To create a personal home practice, you need two things: willingness and determination. Even though it is fun to do yoga practice together in a studio environment, a regular home practice is much more rewarding.

Your daily practice does not have to take an exaggerated amount of time. Even the five minutes you spend has the potential to change the relationship you have with yourself and your body and through these difficult and interesting times. I think this is enough motivation in itself.

Learning to listen to your body and staying in touch with your true feelings will give you the power and openness to take your personal responsibility in a realistic way, keeps you grounded.

Keep your expectations realistic. You don’t want your daily practice to turn into a torment. Sometimes a few sun salutations are enough to connect with your body. Make a realistic promise to yourself. Be sure that once you start moving, you’ll want to move more.

If you can get up every morning and have a cup of coffee, you can also start a daily yoga practice. Even if you don’t practice asana every day, you have daily practice. Your life is your practice. Do not underestimate this.

What kind of yoga space should we create for ourselves?

Choose a space where you won’t be disturbed. Keep your yoga mat and props (mat, block, belt, etc.) handy. You don’t need a big place, just make sure it is clean, bright and calm. Even if your space is small, you can at least get a chance get rid of the unnecessary stuff. Even if you do not have a special room to practice yoga at home, you can create your mental space by cleaning the area where you will practice yoga, lighting candles or incense if you like it, and putting fresh flowers in a vase. With the right intention, every place can be a refuge.

Do we need special equipment to practice yoga? What can we use as an alternative?

It is good to have a yoga mat to keep you from slipping and to protect your joints. But if you don’t have a mat, it will also help to lay a clean, large towel on your carpet and have a small pillow or blanket to put under your knee if needed.

Of course, there are many props you can use. Blocks, belts, pillows etc. But if you don’t have these at home, you can use a thick book instead of a block, a canvas belt or a long, non-flexible fabric instead of a yoga belt, and a pillow that is not too thick or too thin instead of a meditation cushion.

At the end of your practice, I recommend you to have a blanket to keep you warm for final resting position.

How does yoga help our overall well-being?

In the current circumstances, we all experience how uncertain life can be. But the more we remain open and aware, the more we can manage to calm ourselves and find our balance again when our lives are turned upside down. Because, with so much uncertainty, if we define ourselves with what is happening, we can easily find ourselves in a reactive state of mind and start making unhealthy choices, like overeating.

The teachings of yoga offer us practical ways to deal with stressful times, strategies to free ourselves from suffering and to experience the constant joy that already exists within us. The philosophy of yoga, physical exercises, breathing exercises and meditative disciplines that express the yogic point of view are also valid for today’s world, even though they are based on ancient times.

My teacher Cyndi Lee says “Yoga is not aspirin.” Because unlike today’s personal development programs that offer quick solutions, yoga does not have such a promise. It does not offer us a quick solution. But yoga promises that everyone can be peaceful, happy and free through sincerity and regular practice. It doesn’t matter who we are or how we see ourselves, what happened to us in the past. Anyone with the intention of being free from self-limiting thoughts and behaviors can discover freedom through this practice.

As we start to change our perspective, we begin to be comfortable with the relationship we have with ourselves, our body, our mind, our hearts, our family, our world, and we begin to adapt to changes more easily and adapt to the ups and downs of life instead of resisting.

The Hatha Yoga system, which uses the body as an instrument, offers us very specific practices that will purify the body, calm the mind and open the heart. It uses a series of exercises to align the whole body. Asanas, or poses, help reorganize the physical structure. This process makes it possible for breath and energy to flow freely, and to restructure, relax and strengthen neurological patterns. As the senses begin to balance, we can develop a relaxed awareness in the mind and heart.

With regular practice, muscles surrounding the spine start to lengthen and strengthen which helps with good posture. Yoga poses help relieve muscle stiffness, pain and fatigue. Chronic pain and muscle tension decrease as the range of motion of joints and muscles increases.

Breathing is of great importance in yoga practice. Because breath, body and mind are directly related to each other, as breathing improves, it is possible to see the positive results of this in mind and body. Through the yoga posture practice, the muscles surrounding the rib cage strengthen and stretch, and the breathing capacity of the lungs increase.

Yoga practice stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is what creates sense of relaxation in the body. Regular yoga practice helps you reduce stress and find calmness and clarity in your mind.

How can we tell if we are doing the poses correct and safely when practicing yoga at home?

Yoga is essentially an art of listening. The art of listening to body, breath and mind. If you are practicing yoga online, you should also listen to the teacher very well. When you apply the basic principles of alignment and listen to the feelings in your body, it is not really possible to hurt yourself. Allow your body and your breath to guide you.


Categories: yoga, Yoga at Home