Do home practice. You know you want to.

There’s never a bad time to do home yoga practice. But in this lead-up to the holiday season, consider that right now could be the absolute best time. 

Think about it. With all of the social events that go on pre-Xmas, any tidy routines that you’ve established will likely go by the boards. For example, you have a regular yoga class that you love attending, but a party or dinner invitation comes up and it’s irresistible .

However, with just a little will power, you could instead do an early morning practice at home to make up for your regular class.

In another scenario, your yoga school might be closing for a holiday break, but by having a regular home practice in place, you won’t have to miss out on all the benefits yoga gives you. 

A few tips

A great place to get motivation as well as content for practising on your own is from your regular classes. When I attended classes at the Iyengar Institute in Poona, I paid for and did six sessions a week over a month’s period. Then, as a bonus, there was the option of paying a little more to do an extracurricular practice each day.

The yoga room was populated with serious practitioners, as well as the Iyengar family and other teachers. Mr. Iyengar would be watching like a hawk to see if what you’d been taught in the public classes translated to what you did in your own practice.

If your memory isn’t so great, rather than try to remember the whole class program, just take away a few poses that intrigue you, either because they are challenging, novel or just plain fun.

I’m always thrilled when students ask about what they might do in their home practice, and your teacher, I imagine, would be happy to help you, too.

And, there are many yoga books and on-line information that suggest content for home practice. ‘Practising Yoga at Home’, for instance, is an article from yoga expert, Judith Hanson Laster.

Always remember that what we’re up to when we do yoga at home isn’t really inspired by the ‘practice makes perfect’ mentality. Rather than attempting to be a perfectionist, be guided in the work you do on your own by wanting to increase your level of enjoyment and interest. This is the way we get truly hooked on regular personal practice!

More inspiration.(And maybe even a Christmas present for aspiring yogis?)

YogaAnywhere practice cards are perfect for home practice. They are easy-to-read, useful and beautifully designed instructions for a 60-75 minute practice of 10-15 poses. The cards are suitable for beginners to experienced yoga teachers, young or old.

Two 10-card boxed sets are available. The first, Yoga Basics, offers yoga fundamentals in a 10-week beginners program. The second, Yoga Tool Kit, is a collection of therapeutic practices for various modern day complaints such as insomnia, fatigue, backache, jet lag, and anxiety. The packs can be purchased for $20 plus postage. Contact me either here on my blog or by email: eve.grzybowski@me.com.