Having a home yoga practice, whether it be first thing in
the morning, a break for transitioning out of your work day, or a delicious way
to wind down before sleep, is an essential tool for our well-being as yogis. Home practice helps us to stay connected to
our yoga in between classes, and it sustains us during those times when group classes don’t fit into
our schedule or budget.
One student recently asked me for some suggestions for audio
recordings for guided yoga at home. I did
a little research and compiled the list of resources below. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but
there is plenty there to get you started.
Some thoughts on yoga
videos: While DVDs can be very useful, offering
us helpful visual cues for proper
alignment, and providing inspiration as we watch master teachers move with
grace, they are not always practical or desirable. Many of us spend way too
many hours plugged into our computers, iPads, and televisions. Our yoga practice is an opportunity for a
respite from staring at a screen. If you
desire a guided practice at home, an audio recording might be just the ticket
for you to unplug, and perhaps bring your mat outdoors to enjoy the fresh air, or
light some candles indoors and enjoy a time of sanctuary from all your visual
devices.
But what if you don’t have time each day to follow a guided
routine that may be up to an hour and a half in length? While using media for
practice can be immensely helpful , developing a self-guided Sadhana (spiritual practice) is a way of meeting our individual
needs and cultivating tapas--loving
self-discipline and motivation, or inner fire. To learn more about the yogic
observance of tapas, click here.
A home practice session does not need to be as long as a
class, although it’s wonderful if you can take 75-90 minutes for your Sadhana. You can enjoy much benefit
from a half-hour, and once you find the groove of your routine, it will be
something you will crave, like a half-hour date with your Beloved.
So what can you do in that precious half hour? Below is a
suggestion for how to divide up the time. If possible, use a timer with a soft
sound to gently ease you into the next phase. I use the timer on my ipod with
the harp setting, which is a lovely, non-jarring sound.
30-Minute Sadhana
3 minutes centering and deep breathing, setting
intention, and or prayer
17 minutes asana
3 minutes savasana (or some restorative pose)
7 minutes pranayama and meditation
Feel free to tweak this to meet your own needs, which may
vary from day to day. If you are feeling
tired and stressed and want to do a longer relaxation, it’s fine to shorten
some of the other segments. If you have a lot of nervous energy, you might
benefit from a longer, more vigorous asana flow (note: sometimes it is most beneficial to do the opposite of
what your body says—engaging in a few minutes of power vinyasa can be very
effective in shaking off sluggishness; a
series of long-held restorative postures can nourish your yin when you are
feeling excessively yang). Part of yoga practice is learning to tune in and
listen to the shifting and changing energies in your body and mind.
Exactly what you do during that half-hour is not really as
important as consistency--developing a regular, committed practice. In other
words, do it every day, or three times a week, or whatever you have set as a
reasonable expectation for yourself. The”
7-5-4” rule is a helpful guideline that my coach shared with me: if you can do
it 7 days a week, that’s awesome. If you can do 5 days, that’s really great,
and 4 times a week meets your minimum requirement. So, aim for 7 and be
satisfied with 4. And, if life deals you a wild card that makes it so you can’t
practice for a whole week, serve yourself a healthy dose of self-love and forgiveness.
You are human.
Home Practice Resources:
Yoga Journal website: Here you will
find ideas for sequencing, detailed descriptions of poses, and downloadable videos.
Kripalu Shop: Peruse
their catalog for a wide selection of instructional audio cds,
DVDs
with master teachers, and music to support your home practice.
YogiTunes: A fabulous resource for yoga music. They
have both a download store as well as a subscription service, where you can get
playlists of fresh remixes by master DJs that specialize in music that has just
the right vibe for yoga.
Podcasts: Need a little yoga fix in the middle of a busy day? Check out
these "Yoga
Break" mini podcasts from the
faculty at Kripalu Center. These 5-minute podcasts are free to download, and
are a wonderful way to gently refresh and revitalize yourself anytime during
your day. Yoga Journal also has a series of podcasts, offered in both audio and
video versions, that are 20-30 minutes in length and available for free through
iTunes.
Finally, I’ll close with a mantra that honors
our own inner teacher, which is That which we show up for on the mat each day.
May your sadhana be enjoyable and fruitful.
Gurur Brahma
Gurur Vishnur
Gurur Devo Maheshvara
Gurur sakshat
Param Brahma
Tasmai Sri
Gurave namaha
Gurur Vishnur
Gurur Devo Maheshvara
Gurur sakshat
Param Brahma
Tasmai Sri
Gurave namaha
The Guru is Bramha
(the creator)
The Guru is Vishnu
(the Sustainer)
The Guru is Shiva
(the Transformer)
The Guru is truly
the Supreme Absolute
To that Guru I bow
