Home Practice: The Big Picture

by Nina

Houses in Auvers by Vincent van Gogh

The request I received was for information on practicing yoga at home, particularly realistic home practice as real people actually do it. I replied that we had a lot of information on the blog already about that topic, but perhaps it was time for an overview post. So today I’m making good on that promise. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that a major percentage of our blog is about home practice because whenever we talk about practicing yoga, for those who are not teachers we assume that you are doing yoga on your own at home. (For teachers, we assume you may want to get ideas for what to teach as well as what to practice.) So when we discuss practicing yoga for a particular condition, whether stress, anxiety and depression or arthritis and cardiovascular health, we’re providing information for how to practice for that condition at home. We also have a ton of sequences you can practice and information on individual poses that you can do at home. There are, in fact, so many of these articles on conditions, sequences, and yoga poses that I’m not going to list them here, though I did want to alert you to their existence. (If you have a medical condition, search on the condition name to see recommendations. If you want sequences, search on “Featured Sequence.” If you want a pose, search on “Featured Pose.”)

What I am going to do is provide an overview of the articles that address home practice in a general way, including those that fall into three basic categories:

• Why practice yoga at home
• How to practice yoga at home
• Things to practice at home

And in case you still wonder, we really, really encourage you to practice on your own at home—at least some of the time—and basically recommend that you don't worry that much about what you do. However, we do have some basic tips for staying safe (see under "how" below).

Why Practice Yoga at Home

In Home Practice: The Best Way to Improve Your Health Timothy discusses the value of home practice as opposed to going to yoga classes.

In In Why You Should Start a Home Practice I discuss one of the most important reasons to start a home practice from my point of view and provides some tips for getting started.

In My Evolving Home Practice Baxter describes how his own home practice is evolving and changing to adapt to his changing needs.

In Low Pressure Tactics Victor describes how he used his home practice to lower his blood pressure.

In The Eye of the Storm Jivana describes how his home practice helped him to deal with his grief over the death of his mother.

In Is Meditation an Essential Part of Home Practice? Timothy McCall discusses the value of practicing meditation at home as part of your home practice.

How to Practice Yoga at Home

In Yoga Props We Can't Live Without I list the yoga props we recommend and explains why we recommend them and what to use them for.

In How to Stay Safe While Practicing Yoga I list our recommendations for staying safe when you practice on your own (as well as in class).

In Decide Each Day What to Do Nina writes about what YFHA staff members at the time really do

In Home Practice: Is There an Optimal Length? Baxter discusses what the "best" length for a yoga practice is. 

In Pet More Downward-Facing Dogs I discuss how to jumpstart a home practice by thinking small.

In Practicing Yoga with a Friend I write about the benefits of practicing with a friend and describes how to do it.

In Healthy Treats I discuss how to create a yoga practice from poses you like.

In Taking on a Yoga Challenge I writes about how practicing a challenging pose at home can be a valuable experience.

In Coming to Your Sense in Yoga Poses I describe how to practice mindfully.

In What to Do If There is Something You Can't Do I discuss how to plan a yoga practice when you have an injury or condition that requires eliminating certain types of poses.

In Practice As Many As You Can Nina writes about Krishnamacharya’s advice for how to practice on your own.

In Mixing it Up I write about why it’s important not to do the same sequence very day.

In Customizing Your Practice Baxter writes about how to take an existing practice and modify it for your needs.

In Stuck in a Rut? I recommend ideas for getting out of your home practice rut.

In Sequencing: An Essential Skill for Home Practice Baxter writes about the basic concept of sequencing.

In Creating a Mini Yoga Practice I describe how to create your own mini practice.

In Sequencing in the Style of Krishnamacharya, Part 1 Baxter writes about how to sequence in the style of Krishnamachyara.  

In Sequencing in the Style of Krishnamacharya, Part 2 Baxter continues his series about how to sequence in the style of Krishnamachyara

(There is no part 3.)

In Iyengar-Style Sequencing, Part 1 I write about how to sequence in the style of Iyengar.

In Iyengar-Style Sequencing, Part 2 I continue with my series on how to sequence in the style of Iyengar.

In A Week of Yoga Practice I discuss how to balance your week of practice rather than trying to do a balanced practice every day.

In Wondering What to Practice? Timothy recommends working with a private yoga teacher to plan your home practice

Things to Practice

In Energizing Yourself I write about what to do to motivate yourself to practice.

In Standing Warm Up Baxter provides a generic standing warm up sequence. 

In Seated Warm Up Baxter provides a generic standing seated up sequence. 

In Dynamic Floor Warm Up Baxter provides a generic floor warm-up sequence.

In Classic Static Warmup Poses I lists poses you can use for starting a yoga practice.

In Rethinking Office Yoga I list poses you can do standing up in your office or in a small space.

In Yoga Meditation Techniques I describe our recommended techniques for starting a meditation practice .

In Starting a Meditation Practice Timothy McCall describes how to start a meditation practice.

In A Balm for the Soul I describe how to practice simple breath awareness.

In Calming Breath Practices We Recommend I describe the breath practice we recommend for calming yourself.

In Stimulating Breath Practices We Recommend I describe the breath practice we recommend for stimulating yourself.

In Breath Practices for Balance. I describe the breath practices we recommend for balancing yourself.

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