Improve Your Yoga Practice At Home with 4 Easy Adjustments

Yoga has been a lifestyle change for many people. In a 2020 nationwide rural and urban survey conducted by the S-VYASA University, 11.8% of people in India were reportedly practising yoga. This number surfaces as the discipline became more popular, partially because of the current Prime Minister’s role in modelling yoga for health, and also because of the stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic.

After all, yoga offers physical and mental benefits for people of all ages. The best reasons to do yoga include increased flexibility due to stretching, enhanced strength from simultaneously engaging muscle groups, and improved emotional and mental well-being among others. Yoga helps you enter a tranquil state while simultaneously getting relaxed and achieving focus. Aside from that, it also reduces pain and stress and prepares you for your day-to-day activities.

Moreover, yoga is a flexible discipline! So, even though you have been practising yoga for some time now, you can always make adjustments to maximise its benefits. In fact, below are 4 ways you can still improve your yoga practice at home.

Wear appropriate clothes

Even if you are just doing yoga at home, wearing appropriate clothing is still important — and worth the investment. Believe it or not, your clothes have a significant impact on your mental and emotional processes.

Choose a simple yet durable and comfortable set of clothes, like a fitted top and yoga pants. If you can, try patronising sustainable activewear brands. By doing so, you will have high-quality clothes made of breathable, moisture-wicking materials, and you are taking part in maintaining the sustainable clothing market and taking care of the environment.

In addition, avoid wearing loose clothing, as this can get caught on your limbs and distract you from your routine. Stay away from tops with complicated straps and hooks, too, since they can dig into your skin and make you uncomfortable.

Read yogic texts

Aside from your physical routine, reading yogic texts can make your sessions better. Diving into the philosophy and traditions of yoga allows you to enrich your mind and establish a connection with your body. Some yogis choose to consume traditional Indian texts, such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, to acquaint themselves with the history of their discipline.

Of course, there are different yoga books you can choose from, depending on your objective. Its topics range from learning how yoga disrupted mainstream culture to debunking myths about its origins and practice.

Moreover, being exposed to the teachings of other yoga practitioners brings new perspectives, which will either inspire you to follow a particular path or forge a new one. And with yoga at home being isolating at times, reading about the experiences of others also helps you connect with and learn from them. You can see how they apply yoga in other aspects of their lives, renewing your belief in the discipline and gaining the motivation to practise it.

Introduce new equipment

Getting started on your at-home yoga practice typically involves a yoga mat and free videos online. Yoga being a holistic practice, it is best you opt for eco-friendly yoga mats and mats that provide an ant slip surface. If you want to take it to the next level, introduce new equipment and props to your routine. That way, you can challenge yourself, improve your alignment, and modify difficult poses, while keeping yourself safe and comfortable.

Apart from props like blocks, wall, belts and chair, you can start by using a standing desk in your next yoga session. Normally, this equipment is included in a remote workplace setup, as it allows you to move around while working, reducing the hours you spend sitting down and improving your health. But did you know that you can also utilize it for yoga?

You can perform several standing poses with it, for instance, including the Mountain Pose Tadasana, Standing Side Stretch, and Eagle Pose.

Similarly, you can introduce balance boards in your routine, as well. These are boards usually made of plastic or wood used to improve not only your balance and coordination but also your mindfulness and resistance. Find your footing with a simple standing position or mini squats, then slowly make your way to side-to-side taps and kneeling spins. 

Walls can work as great prop too! Apart from Legs Up the Wall, you can use a wall for stability as well as to deepen and modify poses such Tree Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Half Moon Pose, or even use a simple Wall stretch to relieve tension around neck and shoulders. 

Set an intention every session

Lastly, set your intentions before each yoga session. Your intentions are the innermost desires you wish to achieve throughout your session and beyond. You can start with something simple, like perfecting a pose or improving your reach, but you can also focus on your emotions, such as cultivating peace or letting go of fear. Having goals will help you realize that you have made some progress or have accomplished what you needed to do as you finish your routine.

So, before you perform yoga, sit on your mat for a few minutes and be quiet. Listen to yourself and decide on what you need at the moment. Once you have established your intentions, take them with you throughout the session. You can even repeat it to yourself as you settle into your poses.

Yoga is one of the most sustainable routines you can do at home, and despite its simplicity, there are always ways to improve your practice of it. Start with these 4 adjustments, and later see if there are other things you can do to improve your sessions on your own.

Prepared by Joni Blake