Are you wondering, ‘how do I start a home yoga practice of my own?’ Often times, the hardest part is getting started. When starting a home yoga practice, it's the same concept as establishing a new habit. At first we go through the motions with a lot of careful thought, and soon they become second nature to our thought pattern. So, to save you from having to experiment with a lot of the fluff out there, here are the important things to know when starting a home yoga practice of your own.

photo by Hanna Brooks Photography

The hardest part is getting started. After that, you are just revisiting what momentum you already had going. So stop thinking and just start doing it!

Plan time to regularly practice.

Finding the time for a regular practice… What a lot of people don’t realize is that it doesn’t take a long practice to reap the yogic benefits. As little as 5 minutes daily would still have a positive impact on your health. And the same goes for frequency, if you are unable to practice daily - just do what you can! We cannot let perfectionism defeat us before we have even begun because the conditions we find are not most ideal. Have patience when incorporating a new skill into your life. Just keep going ahead - no mater how messy and ungraceful it looks, its still progress.

One way to help develop a regular yoga practice is to build it into a daily ritual so it becomes habit. Some people prefer to have yoga as part of a morning or evening routine (or both!).

PLAN FOR SUCCESS: Plan weekly time for YOU to practice alone and time for you to attend group yoga classes, either online or in-person. Do this on a regular basis (along with your weekly meal planning!)

Find what fits your life best and feels right for you. And if you have children, I recommend being flexible to the need to suddenly rearrange your planned schedule.

Find a teacher.

Find a teacher to study with! While the overall goal may be to practice privately on your own, it is incredibly helpful to have feedback from outside your body. Whether virtual online or in-person, a teacher can greatly accelerate learning when starting a home yoga practice. Options are vastly greater than they were just 5 years ago with the further expansion into the online space.

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Learn a sequence.

Learn a sequence, or series of poses to be repeated. In the early days of my yoga practice, I knew a lot of poses, but not how to sequence them. I felt like I always needed to follow someone for guidance on what to do next. When starting a home yoga practice, I recommend learning a simple sequence that you can repeatedly practice alone. This way, you won't have to continuously plan what to do next while implementing and adjusting to your yoga practice.

I highly recommend the sequence Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskara A for anyone beginning. It is a cyclical sequence and a full body warm up. You can repeat it as many times as you like and it is a complete work out on its own. (Note: I don't recommend this for people with wrist sensitivities. Traditional Sun Salutations can be intense on the wrists so you may need to adapt certain poses. Invent a sequence customized for your needs, substituting problematic poses with more accessible.)

Enjoy your practice.

Enjoy your practice! Release the desire to achieve a goal or particular set outcome with your yoga practice and just enjoy the work. Enjoying the work you put into the practice is the best way to ensure it will happen more frequently. This is a sacred time set aside for your body and your mind. (yes - you are worth it!)

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Light a candle, boil a pot of tea, put on some music, take some deep breaths, and tune into your body. Just flow through the movement! Eventually your sequence and your practice will evolve, but for now, just do the sequence you are working to learn. It’s not always easy, but it does get easier with practice. In addition to reaping the benefits of yoga, you will learn so much about yourself as you come to understand your own practicing habits.

Wondering what props you need to have to get started? Here are my top 5 yoga props for enhancing your yoga practice.

Craving a philosphy deep dive to establish your yoga foundations? Check out my yoga book recommendations here.