“Allow for flexibility, in more than one sense of the word.” ~~ Baron Baptiste
A couple of posts ago, I talked about defining your goals as they relate to yoga, and gave some tips that may help in achieving those goals. As I mentioned in that post, one of the things I was going to do in order to help me achieve my yoga goals is to practice more at home, since it’s not always easy for me to make it to a live class. It hasn’t been easy, because with three dogs, two children and a husband, finding time and some quiet space where I can practice uninterrupted…well, let’s just say, it can be VERY frustrating!
However, though it has been challenging, I have been able to do a nice practice at home when I need to most of the time. Here are some things I’ve done to make it as peaceful and “yoga-like” as possible:
- Find a designated space. The only place I really have available where I’ve got a chance at getting my Zen on is my bedroom. It’s upstairs, away from most of the noise, and I can shut the door. And I definitely shut the door…I tried leaving it open, but then all my dogs decided to join me, and my kids felt like it was OK to come in and ask me questions whenever they wanted. So now, I shut the door…and LOCK IT. Problem solved.
- Announce your plans. If I don’t tell my entire family that I am about to do my yoga, it’s an open invitation to all of them to interrupt me and ask me to do this or that. So, now I always announce when I am about to go practice, and I make them repeat it back to me so I know they heard me. They are famous for looking right at me and not hearing anything I am saying…makes me feel like Charlie Brown’s teacher!
- Find a consistent time to practice. This one can be hard, but I definitely find it easier when I know that as much as possible, I am going to practice around the same time each day. For me, that happens to be in the evenings at the moment…it just seems to work better, since my practice right now is mostly Yin or restorative.
These are the things that have really helped me these past few weeks in being able to get my yoga in when I can’t make it to a live class. For those of you out there who also practice at home, what tips can you share?
Namaste,
Melanie
SC Yoga Girl 