Is a Home Yoga Practice Right for You?

wellness Feb 23, 2020

Yoga: the mind-training, flexibility-enhancing, body-toning, relaxation-promoting practice that has swept the nation. 

When I first began looking into yoga back in 2016, I felt both excited and nervous. I was aware of the compelling mental and physical benefits of the practice, but I felt overwhelmed by the price of the studios around me. Many studios charge upwards of $30 per class, reduced slightly if purchasing a bundle. Whew! I could barely believe how quickly a few sessions could add up! 

Don’t get me wrong. Most yoga studios are incredible places to strengthen your yoga practice. If you can afford the fee, the calming atmosphere, the knowledge of the instructors, and the presence of other like-minded individuals in class make it all worth it!

However, if you are going to commit to truly bettering yourself and your life, you have to ask yourself what circumstances will allow you to be the most consistent in your newfound habit or practice. As much as we may like to pretend otherwise, our budgets, both in time and money, have an impact on our wellness routines. I don’t personally believe in any one “miracle” practice, but even if one existed, it wouldn’t do you any good if it didn’t fit with your lifestyle!

So, if you’re on a budget and find that the cost of attending a studio outweighs the benefits for you at this time, starting a home yoga practice may be the answer to your yoga prayers! 

To learn about the benefits of starting a home yoga practice, read on. 

 

The Benefits of Practicing Yoga AT HOME: 

 
1. It’s way cheaper.

As I mentioned above, it's no secret that studio bills can add up! Practicing at home can save you a significant amount of pocket money! If you’d still like to follow the guidance of a trained instructor without breaking the bank, there are hundreds of thousands of FREE videos online for any kind of yoga you can imagine: yin, vinyasa, power, hatha, restorative, prenatal… the list goes on. Value isn’t always limited by price! 


2. You’ll save time.

Roll out your mat, flow, roll up your mat. BAM! You’re done! In contrast, if you’re going to a studio class, you have to allow time to travel there (and you’ll probably want to arrive a few minutes early). Not to mention needing to coordinate your own schedule with the exact class times offered by your studio. Practice at home and you’ll cut out the travel time and have 100% control over when and for how long you practice. 

 

3. You can customize your class.

With sooo many online options, you can find a yoga class with pretty much any combination of length, type, and intensity. A half hour beginner vinyasa class? No problem. A 5-minute class for yoga poses to do in an airplane seat? You got it. A 45-minute sweaty advanced class targeting hamstrings? You betcha.

 

4. There is increased flexibility in what skills you’re working on.

  Let’s say you’re in a studio class and your instructor introduces crow pose. Everyone in the class works on crow for a few minutes, and then the teacher moves onto something else. If you want to continue practicing your arm balance, you have to choose between allowing the class to move on without you (and therefore missing out on other parts of the class), or return to the pose again after the class ends (which, let’s face it, probably won’t happen). In contrast, if you practice at home, you can spend as much time playing with various poses as you’d like!

 

5. It is less pressure!

As much as we may like to pretend otherwise, self-consciousness is a real thing. After all, contorting your body into unfamiliar shapes while focusing on your internal world of emotions can be a pretty vulnerable experience. (I do want to note that most yoga teachers are incredibly skilled at holding space for whatever kinds of emotions emerge during the practice, and most fellow practitioners are paying way more attention to their own experiences than to whatever may be going on for you. So if you have an interest in attending a studio, and the only thing holding you back is self-consciousness, I’d love to gently encourage you to go to the studio and stay present with your experience.) That said, I completely understand that for many people, it will be more comfortable to familiarize themselves with the names of poses and typical flow sequences in solitude, especially when just starting out. Beginning yoga at home can be a beautiful gateway to a long-lasting, wellness-enhancing yoga practice!

 

There you have it! Five reasons why a home yoga practice may be right for you. Regardless of who you are and how you practice, I am wishing you peace, love, and happiness!

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