Everyone starts their yoga practice in their own way, in their own time.
Personally, I started yoga first with YouTube around 2008, then I started taking classes at the only yoga studio in my small hometown. My friend and I were the only teens there, and everyone else was aged 50 or older.
After getting some experience from this yoga studio, I continued practicing on my own throughout university using YouTube and apps, before taking more studio classes (in-person and online) and eventually going through yoga teacher training.
There are so many resources available to learn about yoga, and you don’t have to stick to one way!
Here’s how you can set yourself up for a lifetime of yoga at home.
Create A Safe Environment For Yoga
First things first! You need to ensure you have an adequate space to practice your yoga in.
Setting Up Your Home Yoga Studio
If you’re constantly bumping into things or pushing stuff out of the way during your practice, you’ll become unfocused and likely frustrated, leaving you with a negative association regarding yoga.
If you can’t leave a space open at all times, have a way to move things out of the way quickly so you don’t have to spend too much time getting the space ready or putting everything back when you’re done.
I did a lot of yoga on my kitchen floor since it was the only place in my apartment that was big enough for me to practice in.
You’ll also need to ensure that you won’t be too distracted by pets or other people while practicing. You might want to use a gate or barricade to block off your area, enlist a babysitter for the kids, or simply advise everyone to leave you alone for one hour while you practice.
This home studio is perfect for solo yoga practice, live online yoga classes, or following yoga videos online.
Buy The Right Yoga Accessories
You actually don’t need anything at all to start practicing yoga right this instant!
Many people insist on getting a mat first, which is definitely helpful for grip and cushioning on the joints, but it’s not mandatory. Many people also practice without anything under them at all. Or, you could use a blanket.
Sometimes using a pillow or rolled-up blanket can be really helpful to support the body in different poses, including savasana.
If you need a block, use some books. If you need a strap, use a belt or a towel. There are substitutes for every prop in yoga that you can most likely find in your home right now.
All you need for clothing is something comfortable that allows you to move freely. You don’t need fancy yoga clothes to have a rich and powerful practice.
Select The Right Yoga Music
While part of yoga and meditation is learning to focus even in the presence of distractions, it can be nearly impossible to do so at the start.
If you find silence distracting, or if there are sounds that are distracting in your environment, try music! Some tutorial videos will already have music built-in, but sometimes it can be helpful to provide your own music. It’s up to you!
While it’s always advisable to have the music playing aloud, if necessary you may wear headphones or earbuds (especially if you need noise-canceling to block out annoying or distracting sounds).
Tips On How To Choose Your Yoga Style
"What will you be doing on your yoga mat? The initial question to consider is, 'What are the requirements of my body and mind?'
Would you prefer an invigorating practice like Vinyasa Flow to awaken your energy, or something gentler and more restorative to bring tranquility to your body and mind? As you engage in yoga regularly, you become more attuned to the impact of various routines and better at discerning your body and mind's needs at different moments.
Determine how much time you can commit to your practice. Some styles require more frequent and intense practice, while others can be done in shorter sessions. Choose a style that aligns with your schedule and commitment level.
Ultimately, trust your instincts. If a particular style makes you feel good, motivated, and aligned with your goals, it's probably the right style for you.
Practice Savasana
Taking the time to relax in Savasana after a yoga session is highly crucial. This is because the nervous system requires sufficient time to integrate and absorb the positive effects obtained from the practice. Without this relaxation, one may end up feeling overly stimulated, particularly following a vigorous yoga class.
Kripalu Yoga To Develop More Self-Acceptance And Compassion
Kripalu yoga is a holistic and empathetic approach to self-exploration that utilizes asana, pranayama, deep relaxation, and meditation as its main techniques for enhancing physical well-being, soothing the mind, opening the heart, and cultivating a deeper understanding of oneself.
The methodology is based on inquiry. Through thought-provoking questions like, "What are your current emotions?" and "What does your body need?", students are motivated to adapt and adjust the poses, uncovering what suits them best. Above all, Kripalu's yoga style emphasizes the importance of practicing kindness towards oneself and embracing self-awareness.
Develop Your Sense Of Balance With Integral Yoga
Experience a greater sense of balance and harmony with Integral Yoga. This unique approach combines various yoga practices to address all aspects of the body, including the physical, emotional, energetic, and mental layers. Integral yoga classes are known for their gentle and slow pace, making them accessible to all. With equal focus on pranayama, deep relaxation, meditation, and asana practice, Integral yoga aims to transform individuals and guide them towards finding inner peace and happiness.
Learn Yoga with YouTube
The number one platform for basically everything on earth is, of course, YouTube.
There are thousands of creators on YouTube who provide all imaginable varieties of yoga tutorials. If you want to learn yoga techniques and more, YouTube is the perfect place to start.
You can find:
- Classic yoga instruction
- Creative yoga flows
- In-depth asana tutorials
- Asana and sequences designed to ease specific problems
- Pranayama instruction
- Spirituality and philosophy of yoga
- History of Yoga
- How to integrate yoga into your daily life
- Ayurveda information (the sister science of yoga)
And hundreds of other yoga topics from these creators!
As I mentioned before, this is where I got my start with yoga. I searched for yoga for beginners and practiced with lots of different creators before narrowing it down to the few I liked the most.
Nowadays, I have found other creators with more challenging content to suit my more advanced yoga practice. There is content for yogis of all skill levels on YouTube!
Best YouTube Channels For Yoga
Internet is the biggest university in the world. You can learn any skill you want to, as long as you the right places to look at. Yoga can be easily learned by following YouTube channels that dedicate themselves to teaching Yoga at home. Here are the top channels for Yoga:
Yoga with Adriene: Adriene Mishler's channel is one of the most popular yoga channels on YouTube. She offers a variety of yoga practices, from beginner to advanced, and her teaching style is friendly and approachable.
SarahBethYoga: Sarah Beth's channel is known for its clear and concise yoga videos. She provides a wide range of practices, including short sessions for busy days and longer routines for deeper practice.
Boho Beautiful: Juliana and Mark offer yoga, fitness, and meditation videos in stunning natural settings. Their videos often combine yoga with travel and wellness content.
Fightmaster Yoga: This channel, led by Lesley Fightmaster, offers a diverse range of yoga practices, including vinyasa, power yoga, and more. Lesley's clear instructions make it accessible to all levels.
Yoga with Tim: Tim Senesi's channel provides challenging and strength-building yoga practices. He's known for his well-structured and detailed classes.
BrettLarkinYoga: Brett Larkin's channel specializes in yoga and meditation. She covers various styles, including Vinyasa, Yin, and Kundalini, and often explores yoga's spiritual aspects.
Yoga Apps
Want a more personalized experience? Yoga apps offer more exclusive (and often more in-depth) videos and information for you to deepen your practice.
They also sometimes give notifications to remind you to practice and might track things like sleep and water intake as well, helping you to be healthy all day long.
You can usually also add videos to your favorites, build your own sequences, and/or download videos to use offline (like on the top of a mountain, for example).
Some of the best platforms to learn yoga are:
- Down Dog
- Asana Rebel
- Gaia
- Yoga International
- Find What Feels Good
- Glo
- Alo Moves
Learning with Yoga Books
With the availability of videos and new information out there, we often forget the classics!
Whether you listen to audiobooks, YouTube breakdowns of ideas from books, or read the books themselves, these tomes have a ton of wisdom inside that informs many yogis.
There are quite a few classic books you may want to consider reading to increase your background knowledge of traditional yoga practices, yogic philosophy, and history, how yoga ties in with certain religious beliefs, and the reasoning and wisdom behind certain advice.
Learning from a more aged source can help you connect better with traditional yoga, since much of yoga today has changed and taken on new qualities to suit the modern person.
Likewise, many newer books convey just as much insightful information in a way that may be easier to understand or digest. If you prefer to read newer texts, you will be able to find an abundance of meaningful material to suit you.
The most often recommended yoga books to read include:
- “The Bhagavad Gita” (the original or an interpreted text)
- “Light on Yoga” by B.K.S. Iyengar
- “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali”
- “The Stories Behind the Poses” by Raj Balkaran
- “Yoga Anatomy” by Lesie Kaminoff
- “Yoga Body and Mind Handbook: Easy Poses, Guided Meditations, Perfect Peace Wherever You Are” by Jasmine Tarkeshi
- “Four Chapters on Freedom” by Swami Satyananda Saraswati
- “Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha” by Swami Satyananda Saraswati
- “The Heart of Yoga” by T.K.V Desikachar
- “The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice” by Deborah Adele
Trusting Yourself for Freeflow
One of the biggest steps in any yogi’s practice is learning to trust your instincts and go with the flow.
Learning how to have a practice where you don’t have a video or teacher telling you what to do is a big challenge to overcome! Once you’ve been learning and practicing for a while and know how to avoid injury, try hopping on your mat and seeing what happens next.
You might choose to start with Surya Namaskar since it’s a pre-established yoga sequence. You only need to remember it, rather than come up with it on your own.
As you become more comfortable with self-lead yoga practice, try coming up with your own sequences and then doing them. Whether you keep it all in your head or write it down is up to you.
Also try pure freeflow, where you just listen to your body, mind, and breath, and move in the way they direct you in that moment. It might not look like any yoga videos you’ve ever seen before, and that’s okay! This is your practice, not anyone else’s.
Take Yoga Classes Online
Enlisting the help of a yoga teacher is the very best way to get more personalized instruction. And you don’t even need to leave your home!
Many yoga teachers offer private and group yoga classes remotely, so you can use your home studio to learn from a professional in real time.
They will view you through the camera as you practice so they can offer corrections and suggestions to make your practice more fulfilling and serve your body better. Building a connection with an instructor is also beneficial because they can help you with your own goals more adequately.
Finding an online yoga teacher is simple with a service like Superprof, where you can customize your search for the perfect yoga instructor. Choose from thousands of teachers for your specific needs.
Whether you want a teacher who specializes in yoga for men, yoga for women, yoga for a disease or ailment, yoga for runners or other athletes, yoga for disabilities, yoga for kids, yoga for depression, or anything else you can think of, you can find it on Superprof!
Everyone’s yoga journey looks different. It’s exciting to know that no matter what you choose or experience, it’s your own personal yoga history! If you want to dive into learning more, try reading books, using apps, watching videos, and lots and lots of practice.
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