Many of you have blogged about home yoga practices before, but I rarely comment because I've had very little to say about it. I always assumed that I just couldn't have a home practice, not in my small, cluttered apartment, with my 2 animals, and lack of self-discipline and guidance. But this past weekend I headed to Castle Hill for a class with one of my favorite yoga teachers in Austin, Hannah Emlen, only to learn that there was a substitute (AGAIN). After too many sub-par substitute teachers, I decided to save my money and walk away. There weren't any other classes I could take at the time, and my body was really really craving some yoga. So I went home, pulled out my mats (need double love b/c of my hard concrete floors), Kimberly's Get Your Yoga On cd, and indulged in my first real home practice.
There were a few minor mishaps. In the first 5 minutes or so of the CD, Kimberly has you sitting on your mat, hands on your knees, eyes closed and doing the 3-part yogic breath. This was all well and fine until I felt a tap on my nose. Opened my eyes to see Lola right in front of me, smiling and pawing away. After several unsuccessful attempts at shooing her away, I finally had to pick her up and plop her on the couch (which, btw, is where she stayed for the rest of my practice - hooray!). I also forgot to light a candle and/or incense, and I forgot to pull out my block ahead of time. Still it was a lovely practice overall, and I felt awesome afterwards (and sore on Sunday, which is always a good sign). I think I'm going to indulge in more home practices and save some money! :)
Afterwards I kept my yoga mats out because someone rather enjoyed laying/sleeping/playing on it...
Any little tips/preferences/rituals/extras you incorporate into your own home yoga practice?
11 comments:
Go you! That's wonderful. You are reminding me that I don't have any blocks at home (I use them whenever I practice in a studio)... I think the best tip is to just keep going and use the momentum of craving yoga to get you on the mat at home.
AWww too cute! :)
Yogamazing podcasts (from iTunes) are great! They make home practice easy and the instructor is good. He often remembers when to instruct to correct an common posture mistakes.
Hi Carolyn,
Sounds great!
Something that I do (which one of my teachers says makes your practice go from "good" to "excellent" ) is to set an intention before I start (a vow to awaken to awareness of body heart and mind) and then at the end, dedicate the merit of my practice to the benefit of all beings.
Then, no matter what my mood is or how scattered I feel, there is a structure and a deep meaning that I can return to again and again.
Love,
Sara
I think this is fantastic! Way to work with your environment.
For me, at night I set up my yoga mat and my speakers to play my podcast, and make sure there is a bottle of water in the fridge. I also fall asleep in something that I'm comfortable laying in and doing yoga in. When I wake up, everything is calling me to salute the sun :)
that is awesome. getting your yoga on at home is totally possible and kimberly's get your yoga on definitely helps :)
I did Kimberly's Get Your Yoga on too this weekend!!! Candles are a must, and I like to sip chilled Zico water. By the way, Olivia does the same thing as Lola - must be the poodle in them!
Abbey is similar to Lola in that if my yoga mat is unrolled, she will lay on it and put all of her toys on it. Keep in mind that she has her own pillows and a couple of beds...my yoga mat ATTRACTS her! LOL
Ever since I left my absolute favorite studio in Beijing, I've been practicing almost entirely at home with podcasts and online videos. Lighting a candle has really helped me make the practice more sacred - I set up the candles on either side of my laptop (talk about the 21st-century altar!).
The yogamazing podcast that Sarah mentioned is good. My favorites are Hilary's Yoga Practice Podcast, Elsie's Yoga Class, the yogatoday.com blog podcasts, and Baptiste Power Vinyasa with Kinndli.
Good luck building your home practice!
Don't forget about the free practices to watch on yogajournal.com!
http://www.yogajournal.com/free_practice
too funny. look at sweet lola getting her yoga on! xo
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