5 ways to inspire your home practice

I love practicing yoga at home on my own. I equally love going to class in community with others. However, because the majority of my yoga practice occurs at home, due mainly to having two small children, I’ve experimented a lot with ways to keep my home practice fresh and inspired. Here are a few simple ideas. Please share your own ideas for an inspired home practice as well. This way we can all learn from one another.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Pick a pose, any pose. Do a short warm-up. Come into your chosen pose. Do a few sun salutations. Come into the pose again. Take downward-facing dog. Do your pose again; notice what’s shifted and changed. Do a few standing poses. Take the pose again – this time take it to the edge a bit more. Experiment liberally with the pose, no one’s watching! Finish your practice with some twists and forward bends and then rest or meditate a bit.

Have a Default Practice
When I first started teaching, I had one all-purpose class sequence memorized cold for those times when I was feeling uninspired or just plain scared. Similarly, for my home practice, when I’m feeling stuck, I have a short sequence of poses I turn to often to help get me started. Sometimes these old standards serve as my entire practice, when short on time. However, usually after moving through them, inspiration kicks in and a juicier practice unfolds.

Attend the Classes of Really Good Teachers
Take at least one class a week with the best teacher you can find. Try to remember one or two new things you learned that you really liked. Then sprinkle those things into your home practice for the week.

Please, Break the Rules
I had an English teacher that once said after you’ve learned the rules of grammar really well you can respectfully break them. I think the same is true of yoga. And, what better place to experiment with unusual sequencing, a new take on a pose or making up something new all together than in your own body in your own practice. Always be safe, honor what you know and keep a good foundation, but don’t be afraid to try something new.

Bring on the Music
This is a pretty obvious one, but a few great tunes always help inspiration kick in. Let yourself get completely lost in the music, movement and breath. The best part about using music in your home practice is that you can choose anything you like. You don’t have to worry if you are the only one in the world who likes a playlist of jazz, reggae, folk, yoga chants and hip hop all mixed together – it’s your show!