The Perks of a Home Practice

Since I started practicing, I’ve gone through a number of shifts in where and how I practiced:

1. When I was in college, practice was mostly in my school-based class (it met 2 or 3 times per week), supplemented by the occasional use of some DVDs that my teacher recommended.
2. When I first moved to Arizona, it was to a small city that was very far away from every other place and also had no studios of its own. However, I still didn’t feel comfortable developing my own sequences. So I practiced mostly with DVDs — some from my former teacher’s suggestions, some that I’d found on my own.
3. When I moved again, there were studios! It was awesome! I was so enamored of this option that my practice shifted — with a lot of studio time and a smaller amount of DVD practice.

Since then, however, another more gradual change surfaced. Maybe it was going to so many classes with different styles and instructors (instead of repeating the same DVD sequence over again). Maybe it was just… time. But more and more, I started wanting to practice my practice — a sequence of poses that I’d designed just for me. At some point, a self-designed sequence became the core of my asana practice.

And I know I just did a short series on how to prepare for a new studio class, but a self-sequenced home practice can be pretty awesome too. So I thought I’d share the things — some serious, some silly — I especially love about my home practice.

Disclaimer: Any home practice — self-sequenced or following a DVD or other instructional format — comes with one significant disadvantage. That disadvantage is that there’s no outside feedback when it comes to correcting alignment or double checking safety. At the very least, it is good to be extra mindful of these things when practicing. For some people, attending class with a qualified and trusted instructor may be the most appropriate option, at least temporarily. Please use your best judgment to determine good individual options.

1. I can wear whatever I want. — I mean, I’m not the most fashion conscious yogi even in class (or even at work, for that matter). But there are certain norms of studio dress that, when at home, I can ignore. Practice in a sports bra and no shirt? (While this is a totally conventional option in some places, shirtlessness is just not done at my current studio.) No problem. Those ratty pajama pants with the giant hole in the crotch? Have at it.
2. I pick my own music. — I do not always love the music my teachers play for class. Shocking, I know. And sometimes, it’s fine, but I’m just not in the mood for reverent, inspirational lyrics. Sometimes no music works best. Sometimes background guitar instrumental. Sometimes Miranda Lambert and the Pistol Annies. And practice is sometimes nicer when I have music, serious or silly, that I enjoy.
3. I get to practice for how I’m feeling that day. — This should go without saying, but one of the chief benefits of a home practice is that I get to tailor it to my physical and emotional needs. In class, I do have the option of modifying an instructor’s suggested sequence, but totally going off and doing my own thing is usually not advised. But at home, if I want a fiery core practice, I get a fiery core practice. If it’s all hip openers, it’s all hip openers.
4. It’s easier to move with my breath. — Because I’m the only one breathing. It is not ideal to hear a teacher say, “Five more rounds with your own breath,” and then only give enough time for, say, two or three rounds.
5. Standing balances are also easier. — In class, I try to keep my gaze on an unmoving point in front of me. But this is difficult when, in my peripheral vision, there are yogis teetering and tottering and toppling all over the place. Even when I try to keep my focus, it’s hard not to see all the other things happening, even if they’re only in bits and pieces. When it’s just me, then it really is just my own balance to note.
6. I always have enough time to prop or otherwise set up a pose. — Because sometimes? The instructor who doesn’t use a blanket under their hips or knee — and so doesn’t need the time to set up — neglects to offer that time to the class. And then the class is out of the pose before I’ve properly set up in it. This is frustrating. When I practice at home, it doesn’t happen.
7. I can hold the stiffer side longer. — This is heaven. Just ask my left hip. I don’t necessarily mean staying a lot longer, but a few extra breaths… it is splendid.
8. I can do all the goofy things. — Jump backs from crown into chaturanga even though I still undershoot the distance by oh, so much? Sure. Butt wiggles in downward facing dog? Groin wiggles in goddess? Whatever. No one’s watching.
9. I really can fall asleep in savasana. — Unless something is happening outside. Then the dogs bark and wake me up.

This is the third of three pics I took while figuring out the best sizing and angle. She is very good at ‘wait.”