A personal yoga space can be a healing way to make wellness easier to follow at home. This is especially important now given COVID-19 (which I had and recovered from). Home morphing into work-family-school, it’s a strain on everyone. Since April, I’ve been leading virtual More to Love Yoga classes. It’s been an amazing way to connect and share in this experience together.
I’ve been practicing yoga for 13 years, teaching for 5, and my own home-based practice has been a key part of my life. I’ve learned what it takes to actually make space and time in your home and life for yoga.
To help make it easier for you to join More to Love Yoga, I’ll go over the technology, equipment and the headspace needed to help you practice yoga at home.
Technology
All you need to do you join More to Love Yoga virtually is:
- Access to reliable internet with audio and video capabilities
- A (free) Zoom account (available for desktop or mobile)
- Register for an upcoming More to Love class (handy how-vid below)
- Join live when it’s time (or watch the recording when available)
Yoga Supplies & Set-up
Making space can be simple and you don’t have to be fancy or move all the furniture away. You’ll want a space that feels comfortable for you, allows you to move in your full range of motion without knocking things down.
Basic gear to get started from YogaOutlet.com all for under $50.00 (Disclosure: this link is an affiliate link which helps us both out.)
3’’ foam blocks (recommend getting 2) for $15
Strap (8ft recommended) for $7
Yoga supply splurges that are totally worth the investment
Jade Yoga Mats are eco-friendly, long lasting, and come in a wide variety of styles, colors, sizes including X-long & X-wide & durable materials
Bolsters lift, support & make yoga extra comfy.
Evermore Living Blankets are heavy-weight cotton – it’s the greatest blanket I’ve ever used, especiallyfor restorative
Other additions to your yoga collection to consider:
- Joint cushions (for knees, wrists)
- 5” foam blocks (larger and great for more support)
- Eye masks for rest
- Small neck pillow
- Supportive chair (I use this)
- Large storage box to hold supplies
Learning Yoga
Yoga is a big deal and can be intimidating, but More to Love Yoga is designed for all bodies and experiences. I believe a yoga inspired from within is a body-loving yoga. I’ve spent 5 years teaching yoga to larger bodies, older bodies, younger bodies, tired bodies, changing bodies, healing bodies, nervous bodies, joyful bodies….the list is infinite. The center of More to Love Yoga is our common spirit of belonging.
You can jump into any More to Love Yoga class and find your way. But if you want a more structured program, then Home Body is for you. This tutorial teaches you the essentials of More to Love Yoga and offers classes to integrate your lessons.
Learning yoga online will be different than in a studio and that’s OK. The most important thing is to learn that you’re making all this work for yourself – so take the pressure off having to “do it right.”
Make it a habit
The hardest part of yoga is getting on your mat. But once there, you’ll be glad you did. Schedule self-care. Home-based yoga can be as simple as rolling your mat or making a devoted space in your home for it. The main thing with home-based yoga is to make it easy and enjoyable.
If follow-through with a home-based yoga class is hard, here are a couple suggestions:
- Register for class anyway + you’ll get a recording in case you miss it live
- Put the classes on your calendar and make it something to look forward to
- Tell people in your home that you’re taking a class and will be liking some quiet space
- Have a friend/family join with you
- Tell yourself “I’ll hop on for 10 mins and see how I feel…” I personally do this one for my own practices
Make your environment special and nice so you’ll look forward to being in it. I recommend having the following in your yoga space:
- A pen and journal to write in
- A candle/scent that is calming
- Artwork/crafts that are special to you
- If your home is noisy, get some comfortable headphones
Time spent on yourself is never wasted.
