Even a short practice session can kickstart your day, helping you feel more focused and energised, or it can help you to wind down at the end of the day and prepare you for a deep, restful sleep.
You might even start with 15 mins. That shouldn’t seem too difficult to fit in. It also helps if you have allocated a space where you can roll out your mat or set up your cushion and you won’t be disturbed. Getting up early while the rest of the household is asleep can help!
Home practice can:
- Deepen your connection with your breath and body
- Prepare you and energise you for your day
- Help you to wind down for a good sleep
- Give you time to explore and breathe into different poses
- Increase the health benefits of your regular yoga class
When you do your own home practice you can take the time to feel what your body needs. Settle into your comfortable, upright seated position, using a cushion to elevate the hips a little or a wall for extra support. Notice the weight down through your sitting bones, your legs, take your time, relax your shoulders, release tension with the exhale, draw up tall through the spine with the inhale, notice the movement of the breath, the quality of the breath. Now notice how you feel.
You might like to take 10 straw breaths* here to encourage the parasympathetic nervous system response (the relaxation, or rest and digest mode). Now you are free to take your time to do any asanas you want to do. If you are unsure, start with a whole body warming movement and then just move your body in different ways – a forward bend, back bend, side bend and a twist covers all the movements of the spine for example. Or mobilise the hip joints and shoulder joints with big rolling and circling motions.
Safety first – practice asanas you have learnt in class rather then attempt new, more difficult poses. It’s best to explore these with your teacher first.
Before lying down for a few minutes on your back (shavasana), if comfortable, to finish, you might like to take another breath exercise (pranayama). Again, choose one that you have learnt in class and are familiar with. Take your time and be relaxed in your efforts.
The most important thing about a home practice is that it feels good! So choose deliciousness over discipline!
*Straw breath is a technique I learnt from Donna Farhi, which is designed to extend the exhalation and activate the relaxation response. You may have used it naturally in times of high stress or emotion!
Simply breathe in with a normal, gentle inhale through the nostrils, then purse your lips as if you are breathing out through a straw in your mouth. Take your time to breathe out, but keep it comfortable. You might notice by the 10th round that your exhalation is much longer than when you started. Remember to sit tall and relaxed throughout.
Breathe Aotearoa 