The Two-Minute Rule states “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”
If a home yoga practice appeals to you, then what are you waiting for and what do you possibly have to lose? (If your answer is two minutes, then you might just be missing another opportunity to set you on your way to a sustainable and enjoyable practice). Rolling out your yoga mat and sitting to contemplate where you wish to take your home practice, is the beginning of a habit AND an important starting point.
Whether you are looking at starting a home yoga practice as a complete newbie to yoga so you can transition to a class setting more confidently OR transitioning an already established studio practice to encompass a home practice, there are definitely considerations to making it successful.
My six tips for establishing a home yoga practice, with some regularity consist of:
Tip 1: Having a clear goal in Mind
Without a clear and sustainable goal in mind, towards setting up a home practice; a variety of obstacles have a much greater chance of succeeding to foil your very best laid plans.
Writing your intentions, reviewing how realistic they are and making them verbal to your friends, family or partner will help to clarify and make you more accountable in your home yoga journey (or any goal for that matter). Start your practice exactly where you physically and mentally begin.
Tip 2: Be Disciplined; Yet Flexible
Begin by dedicating a space where you will not be disturbed by kids, partners, pets, phone messages and reminders. This time is about meeting your own needs and switching off long enough to recharge your own energy levels. You will begin to notice that this creates such a delicious flow-on effect, that everyone else around you starts to respond to it positively.
Allocate your days and available times for practice and make them realistic; because this is all about setting up for success.
If one week is a little more out of the ordinary than normal, go with it! Don’t be so hard on yourself that the practice begins to feel like a chore (this is definitely NOT the purpose).
Tip 3: Find Some Good Resources
The market is now absolutely flooded with them – books, DVD’s (old school), pdf’s, youtube, phone apps, online yoga tutorials and our friend ‘Google’ (new school).
Find a style, teacher, level that resonates with you personally. Look for the ‘Goldilocks theory’ – not too heavy, not too light – just right (FOR YOU). Immerse your mind as much as your body and continue your journey to learn and grow from all your experiences.
Tip 4: Know Your Limitations (Keep It Real)
It’s all well and good for you to want to tie yourself in knots and aspire to the Greatness of some of our early and influential yogis (or your role models) and their ability to perform astounding feats of the body. Remember, if it comes at a cost and renders you out of action for the next couple of weeks or longer (due to a sustained injury) then your purpose and best intentions are defeated.
Find what feels right in your own body and work on developing that. You want to progress your practice slowly, safely and sustainably.
Tip 5: Practice Patience and Persistence (results with follow)
Patience and persistence come back to your ability to listen and respond to your own personal physical and mental needs at any given moment; these change all the time!
Patience and persistence go hand in hand. It might help you to begin with a pose that you want to master, which you might need to practise often. Don’t let it go until you reach a stage where you are happy, you have experienced some personal progress and feel more comfortable than when you set out to achieve that goal. Then…and only then let it go and move on. Just because it is the same pose does not mean that you won’t feel and experience something different in that shape each and every time you arrive there.
Both of these traits require you to dig deep to find some gentle-ness, forgive-ness and loving care to continually move in the direction of your desired outcome.
It is called a ‘yoga practice’ for a reason! It takes practice to build your strength and your flexibility in both your body and your mind. So be gentle and non-judgmental as you navigate newness. A little patience and kindness go a very long way.
Tip 6: Set an Achievable Time Frame
Set a realistic time frame for your practice in order to reach the goals that you set. You have life obligations, roles to fulfill and always others to consider. Think about how you can create a balance that allows you to fill your own bucket also.
I personally feel it’s far more beneficial to get to your mat or (matless) yoga space in shorter bursts and more regularly through the week than one long session that takes you a week (or longer) to recover from. Play around, it’s supposed to be fun too.
You’re On Your Way to Starting a Home Yoga Practice
Now, none of this is earth-shatteringly new information, this I am sure. But, these are components that have certainly shaped my own regular home practice.
I cannot stress enough from my own experience though that a class environment, with an experienced teacher that will nurture your progress and specific needs, is a must. This environment and experience will really complement and complete your home practice and ALSO offer you so much more to work with and get confident about.
Feel free to share your own personal recipes towards success in a home practice. Or pick my brain for a practice that might suit your own needs, time and circumstances.
Namaste
