Set Yourself Up For Success In Your Home Practice
Our wellness is a result of everything we do, both big and small, from choosing vegetables over takeout for lunch, the belly laugh we had with friends, or the early night we made ourselves have last night, and it’s often the small things done regularly that can make the most profound changes. Feeling more valued begins with the behaviours we show ourselves, and small rituals in our day can offer us a chance to be more present to the moments of joy in our day.
1. Prioritise and Sanctify your Practice.
Make a specific spot in your home that is specifically reserved for your practice. When you roll out your mat, you are in your own little studio, so be there! Don’t roll it out and then walk away and get on Facebook (guilty – I’ve done that – it does not benefit your practice!). Creating a small altar or having a special picture, token or candle there to mark this as a sacred space for intentional practice will help you.
2. Remove Distractions
When you practice, make the practice your sole focus. Turn off the phone, music and computer, and put the device you're watching me on 'do not disturb'. Honour your practice time as sacred and important. Make boundaries around yourself for your practice time. If you are in a house with other people, you will need to gracefully practice conscious communication with them in order to protect your uninterrupted practice time and space.
So often people say to me "I can't practice at home because there is too much going on and it's too distracting.” One of the foundations of the movement forms I teach is concentration/ presence. It is a discipline that must be practised regularly, hence why we call it a 'practice', it does not need to be perfect! Often the people that struggle the most with it are high achieving, active people who are always up for a challenge; let this be one of your challenges: your body and mind will thank you for it!
Let your home practice be a little messy, welcome in the distractions (you’ll often see my dog or children make appearances in my classes!) and as you accept them they won’t be a negative anymore.
3. Take the time to sit and be still.
Always include time in your practice just to BE – to breathe and to be present with yourself. Whether that be before you press play on the class or lingering a little longer once your practice is completed (like I always invite you to). Perhaps picking a gentle pranayama practice will help you, like what we did in the detox practices or a mantra meditation. Finding stillness in your practice will make you feel very nourished and peaceful, and this will then make you want to practice with more consistency and devotion! Just three minutes of conscious deep breathing can work wonders! Practising meditation will benefit your asana practice because it will help you build your powers of concentration.
4. Create a habit.
You've found online classes with me with many options of duration, style and level, I'm so glad you have! Whether you like to join me live and have that experience, or whether you love having the option to do a class whenever it suits, you have to schedule it in and make it a priority. Make your schedule or intentions for your weekly practices achievable. For eg. "I'm going to do 2 classes per week." Then as you start to make those pockets of time a routine you may begin to prioritise it more and do 3-4 classes per week and so on... The whole idea in making it a realistic amount is that we feel that sense of achievement instead of pressure or beating ourselves up for not doing a class every day of the week. None of us needs extra stress or anxiety so make sure your practice nourishing, gratifying, challenging and enjoyable
5. Support Yourself
There are many ways we can support ourselves in our home practice and I am always aware that you may not have props handy. There are two things you can do in this instance: 1) don't use anything and just make the best of it with what you've got, or 2) use things from around the house. Towels, books, blankets, cushions, cans are all things I often suggest you use. And if you would like to invest in some props take a look back at this weeks email and you'll find another short blog with some products and brands that I love.
Blocks are a fantastic tool in yoga, barre and pilates classes and are readily available at Kmart and other similar stores. You can also purchase from Eco Yoga Store or Lululemon.
There are a multitude of yoga mats on the market and if you're practising regularly I'd recommend you invest in a decent one. I have had mats from Lululemon (6+ years of daily use and still great), Yoga Tribe (the beautiful mat I use in my recordings, it's big enough for the whole family! SO luxe) and Manduka (The grippiest mat ever and great for travelling with) and I love them all.
Bolsters are a treat, especially if Yin is your thing, they take your practice to the next level of amazingness. I have a full-sized one from Eco Yoga Store (discount code: 19E161CF ) and a little cutie from Globe Artichoke, and they're both such high quality and NZ brands.
When it comes to the odd occasion where we use straps, you can also get these cheap at Kmart etc, or just use a belt or similar. Blankets, towels are also super useful to have handy.
No one home practice looks the same but when the stars align my classes will be waiting for you when you arrive on the mat. Pause and breathe, decide what you need at the time, then push play. No matter how busy or full your days feel, you always have time for just 20 minutes or so of mindful movement, never feel guilty doing this - Your mind, body, and family will thank you for it!
Jane xo