Start a Home Yoga Practice Today – 7 Proven Hacks From A Yoga Teacher

Start a Home Yoga Practice Today – 7 Proven Hacks From A Yoga Teacher

From couch to lotus – Start your home yoga practice today with these 7 proven hacks from a yoga teacher and long-time yoga practitioner. The power is yours.

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Key takeouts

• Having a regular home yoga practice offers many benefits: convenience and flexibility, cost-effectiveness, increased consistency, personalised practice and the benefit of practising in the comfort of your home.
• Yoga is very accessible and there isn’t much yoga equipment required to start a home yoga practice. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced practitioner, a yoga mat and a couple of yoga blocks will help you keep your home yoga practice safe.
• The formula for success: consistency – focus on the benefits – fun
• Start a new healthy habit today with these 7 ultimate tips from a yoga teacher and long-time yoga practitioner on how to start a home yoga practice. The power is yours.

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I established a home yoga practice right from the beginning of my yoga journey. Back then I was working a very demanding job with crazy hours and the schedule of the yoga studio I was going to didn’t match my daily schedule except for the weekends.

But, at the same time, I did not want to compromise on my yoga practice during the week, so I decided to start a home yoga practice.

I know that many of you ladies face a similar situation, but whatever your reasons for starting a home yoga practice, these 7 tips and tricks on how to start a home yoga practice will set you up for long-term success and consistency along your yoga journey.

Benefits to having a regular home yoga practice

Having a regular home yoga practice offers a lot of benefits. See the top 5 benefits below for your reference.

• Convenience and flexibility – you can practice yoga whenever it fits best your daily schedule and you also eliminate the commute to the yoga studio
• Increased consistency – having the option to integrate your yoga practice into your daily routine leads to more consistency over time
• Cost-effective – a home yoga practice can save you money on memberships or class fees making it more affordable overall
• Personalized practice – you can tailor your yoga practice to your specific needs and requirements focusing on the yoga poses that benefit you the most
• Comfortable environment – a home yoga practice allows you to practice yoga in the comfort of your own home free from any distractions or pressures you might feel in a public class

7 proven hacks to start a home yoga practice

Alright my friends, say goodbye to procrastination and get ready to start a new healthy habit today.

What you need to get started with yoga at home

Whether you are a yoga beginner or have an advanced yoga practice I recommend a yoga mat as well as a couple of yoga blocks to keep your home yoga practice safe.

1. Set a time

Check your weekly schedule and set a time for your home yoga practice. Make sure to block the time in your diary. Commit to this time and avoid shuffling the time around during the week.

How much time you spend on your home yoga practice, is totally up to you. This can be 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, etc. It all depends on your schedule and how much time you would like to allow for your home yoga practice.

My tip for you is to be honest with yourself and reasonable when looking at your schedule. Start small and work out how much time you can make without feeling stressed about fitting your home yoga practice into your weekly schedule.

There is no judgement, you do what is right for you and I can assure you that already 10 minutes of yoga in the morning can make a huge difference to the rest of your day.

Keep in mind that once a week already counts as a regular practice.

What matters most is that you are consistent going forward and that you keep showing up for yourself.

2. Consistency

We just dropped the keyword…consistency.

We, humans, are creatures of habit. Use consistency to your advantage when establishing your home yoga practice.

Meaning, that if you, for example, pick Tuesdays, 7:30 am – 8:00 am for your home yoga practice, stick to the same day and the same time every week moving forward.

If you do things consistently, over time it becomes more and more ingrained into your daily habits and at some point, you don’t even have to think about it anymore, it naturally becomes part of your daily routine. Just like making coffee in the morning.

3. Set your intention

Behind every action that we take is an intention. Knowing and understanding ‘why’ you do something or want something will help you to consistently show up for yourself and support you along the journey of making your home yoga practice happen.

Consider your ‘why’ as your personal, emotional motivation.

Take a moment and ask yourself:

• Why do you want to start a regular home yoga practice?
• What is your biggest motivation for starting a regular home yoga practice?
• What is your goal with this home yoga practice?
• What are you hoping to change by starting a regular home yoga practice?
• How different would your life be if you had a regular home yoga practice? What would change for you?
• What do you think will be your biggest challenges to starting a regular home yoga practice?
• Looking at your biggest challenges, what must you do to overcome them?

Contemplate these questions while having a cup of coffee or use them as journal prompts and make this a journal exercise.

Examples of your ‘why’ could be that you are looking to increase your fitness levels, improve your physical health, reduce stress levels, feel more confident within your skin, or maybe you are looking to strengthen your body to release physical pain, etc.

Knowing your ‘why’ will be the main driver to making your home yoga practice happen.

4. Find a space in your home

Having a dedicated home yoga space is a wonderful way to honour yourself and your yoga practice.

If you have a space that you can turn into a dedicated home yoga space, perfect; but that is not necessary, as a pop-up yoga space is just as effective.

To find the right space for your home yoga practice, take a look around your home and find a space that feels peaceful and quiet to you.

This could be next to a big window, for example, the natural light will be amazing.

Or if you live in a climate that allows you to practice outside, maybe you can use your garden or balcony to create a home yoga space.

Along your search for the right space, there are 3 things to consider for your location:

• make sure you have enough space around you to move freely
• find a quiet space with minimal distractions
• the flooring should be stable and non-slippery; hardwood floors are ideal, but if you have carpet, ensure it’s firm enough to support your balance and stability during your home yoga practice

Another tip from my end: keep your home yoga space clean as this will avoid distractions during your home yoga practice and help you quiet the mind and focus on your home yoga practice.

5. Find what flows for you

If you are an advanced yogi and confident to practice by yourself, have fun with your yoga practice, let it flow and see where creativity takes you.

Alternatively, you might also consider practising specific yoga poses you are looking to improve or would like to explore more.

If you are a yoga beginner or looking for guided yoga flows, there are lots of free resources online.

Yes, having options is great, but having too many options can be overwhelming at times.

To keep your home yoga practice efficient and effective:

• pick a yoga teacher and a yoga style that resonates with you
• always come prepared to your yoga mat and pick the yoga video ahead of your yoga practice
• create a list of your favourite yoga flows so that you always have a fallback option

There is no need to have a different guided yoga video every time you come to your yoga mat. It is good to do the same video a few times. This way you are more likely to notice your progress which will also boost your motivation moving forward.

6. Make yourself a priority

Yoga can bring many benefits to your physical, mental and spiritual well-being. For example, yoga can help to improve your strength and flexibility, reduce stress, boost your focus, boost your immune system and so much more.

Say YES to yourself and make yourself a priority.

Don’t compromise on your self-care time and keep in mind that every minute you invest in yourself will pay off.

7. Challenge yourself

First and foremost: whenever you are on the yoga mat make sure to keep your yoga practice safe and listen to your body.

But if you are looking to progress with your yoga practice you will also experience that from time to time, you might need to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

Maybe try an intermediate or advanced yoga flow, try a different yoga teacher or a different yoga style, maybe set a focus e.g. building strength for the next month, focus on yoga poses you find challenging, extend the time of your home yoga practice, etc.

Whatever it is for you, challenging yourself in your yoga practice can lead to growth, and build confidence and resilience at the same time.

But as mentioned at the beginning, be mindful and listen to your body to avoid pushing yourself too hard and risk injury.

How to start a home yoga practice FAQ

How should a beginner start yoga?

If you are completely new to yoga, I recommend you to do both: taking a regular beginner’s class at a yoga studio near you and establishing a home yoga practice in parallel.

Especially as a yoga beginner, I think it is important to learn the correct alignment in each yoga pose, and the best way to learn this is in the studio with a yoga teacher.

This will give you safety and allow you to build a strong foundation for your yoga practice moving forward.

How do I get into a daily yoga practice?

If you are looking to establish a daily yoga practice, I highly recommend incorporating your daily yoga practice into your daily routines.

If you for example have a morning or evening routine, work out how much time you are looking to dedicate to your daily home yoga practice and include this time into your morning or evening routine.

This way you are tagging a new healthy habit to an already existing healthy habit making how to start a home yoga practice so much easier for yourself.

In my case, I added yoga to my morning routine. What it means for me: I get up, make my coffee, allowing myself 20 minutes to wake up before I get on my yoga mat for my daily home yoga practice.

How to stay motivated to do yoga every day?

The recipe for success is:

• consistency – keep showing up for yourself and let consistency create a new healthy habit
• focus on the benefits – after each practice, focus on how your body feels, your internal state, the changes you notice in your body over time, etc.
• allow your practice to be fun – rather than making your daily yoga practice another item on your to-do list, let your yoga practice be fun, keep it interesting and inspiring at the same time

Sounds simple, I know, but if you are committed to yourself, it is that simple.

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Let Your Shadow Shine Yoga

I 🖤 my collaboration with YogaTX and you can find a lot of my yoga flows online on demand at YouTube YogaTX.

All yoga flows are completely free and you can find a selection of beginner yoga flows as well as more intermediate and advanced yoga flows.

Here is one example: Join me for a morning yoga flow in magical Mexico.

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Hopefully, I answered all your questions about how to start a home yoga practice and I am leaving you excited and inspired to start doing yoga at home.

However, should you have any further questions about how to start a home yoga practice, or would like to leave a comment, please feel free to do so below.

I have already dropped a few related resources for you along the way, however, below are three more blog posts I am sure you will enjoy and will support you along the way of how to start a home yoga practice.

Further relevant resources from this blog:

• 11 Reasons Why You Should Start Yoga
• 7 Ways to Overcome Procrastination – Unleash Your Potential
• 7 Power-Packed Post-Yoga Snacks

Time to wrap up and call it a week my friends 🖤.

As always, thank you for your time and space.

Stay wild,

Nicolle

Featured image Photo by Ginny Rose Stewart on Unsplash