Username:
Password:
forgot password? \| Register

Home > Home Practice

Starting a Home Practice

By Kate Woodworth - Kate is a senior yoga teacher and yoga therapist from Yoga Vidya Gurukul (www.yogapoint.com), she is teaching and practicing yoga for the last 10 years.

Starting a Home Practice

It can be a difficult step going from yoga classes to a home practice. But if we really want to reap the benefits that yoga has to offer as well as gaining a better understanding of yoga and the lifestyle that follows it then a home practice is a necessary part of the daily routine.

Building discipline and creating the right environment

If we decide to start a home practice then we should make a decision to stick with it, to make it a part of our daily life. We should look at this time that we put aside as a time for ourselves, not something that we have to do along with all the other things. We should be excited and happy to do our practice. We should decide on a time and place and not change it. This will help to increase our discipline, willpower and concentration. The time available will vary for everybody but the best times for practice are the early morning, ideally before sunrise, or the early evening, around sunset. Remember that you need to practice on an empty stomach. That means at least 3 hours after meals and half to one hour after drinks. The place should be spacious, airy, clean and away from distractions. Clothing should be loose, comfortable, clean and allow movement in all directions.

It is recommended that you practice for 30 to 45 minutes daily but any amount of time is good and beneficial. It is important to fit in what you can and to be realistic. Even 10 to 15 minutes daily will give benefits. You can always start with ten minutes and gradually increase this. Don?t be tough on yourself and say you have to practice for this much time everyday and do this, this and this. It will cause more stress and tension. We should try to be relaxed about our practice and not give ourselves high expectations or demands.

What to include in a practice

It is important to try to have a balance of not just asanas but also pranayama, mantra or meditation and relaxation. It will depend on what you want to achieve from your practice as to what to include. Daily asanas from all prepositions should be done. First from the supine position then prone, sitting and standing . There should be a balance of asanas from all categories, such as backbends, forward bends, twisting postures, inversions, balancing postures and relaxation postures. There should be warming up movements to begin and regular shavasan or other relaxing postures. There should be counter poses as well. That means if you have done a back bend, then a forward bend should also be done. Different asanas can be selected for different days as it is not possible or necessary to practice all the asanas in one session. You can alternate your yoga practice every second day.

It is recommended that you try to incorporate some pranayama into your practice if you have been practicing it with a teacher for some time. If not then some simple deep breathing or alternate nostril breathing can have amazing effects.

Mantras or meditation are also a nice way to begin and end a session. There are many mantras and you can choose a mantra that suits and appeals to you. Or you can practice a little meditation such as awareness of the breath.

Awareness and breath

Awareness is something that you will have to remember, without having the teacher there to guide and remind you. Awareness of the breath, of the movement of the body into and out of the asana, of the body in the asana and any areas of tension.

The breath is something we often forget about. The breath will help you to get in and out of the asana as well as helping you to relax more whilst in the asana.

Getting over any obstacles

There can be many obstacles in the way when we try to practice yoga. Patanjali talks about them in the thirtieth sutra of the first Pada in the Yoga Sutras. He says the obstacles are disease, dullness, doubt, procrastination, laziness, craving, mistaken perception, inability to achieve finer stages and instability. They are known as the nine disruptive forces of consciousness and he says these can be overcome by the practice of concentration on one principle. He says that you must stick with your practice and not change it. If you keep changing your practice then more obstacles will come.

Some other ways that can help you to get over these obstacles include have regularity in other aspects of life such as sleeping and eating times. This will help you to maintain regularity in your yoga practice. Remember not to expect too much of yourself. What is important is developing your routine. Even if you only get on to your mat for 5 minutes of deep breathing, it is something that will have positive effects. A yoga practice should enhance, support and increase the ease in your life.

By sustaining a regular practice we gain more discipline, benefits and enjoyment. We will look forward to that time set out each day and see it as a time for reenergising and renewal, for peace and quiet.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati says, "The time that you will be devoting to the practice of Yoga does not mean that you will be snatching good time away from your life. On the contrary, you will be adding hours of blissful health and enjoyment to your life every day."

Yoga leaves its impact on the whole of human life and aims at all round progress. Therefore, if we are to follow Yoga we should not just do our 45 minute practice and forget about it for the rest of the day. We should try to incorporate Yoga into all aspects of our life. This will take time and through practice our awareness and lifestyle will gradually transform into a more healthy, happy and peaceful lifestyle. We will begin the ultimate journey of self discovery.

By Kate Woodworth