How to Practice Yoga at Home

Practicing yoga at home is awesome. But it can also be a little daunting. How in the world should you start? What should it include?

A few years back, a teacher told me to structure my home practice around what feels good. I think I took this a bit too literally, and would either A.) sit on my mat while I watched Cops reruns, or B.) fall asleep. In the intervening years, I’ve worked out a set of loose guidelines to make sure my home practices are beneficial and time effective. (I’ve also realized that I cannot, under any circumstances, practice in the same room as a television.)

Simply put, I have a mental checklist that I try to complete. Asanas can be roughly organized into 6 categories, so I try to work on at least one posture from each category.  This structure works for me because I can get elaborate and spend lots of time on each category, or I can keep it simple and quick.  This variety keeps my home practice interesting, and sticking to the 6 categories keeps it well-rounded.  The only things I try to keep consistent are my warm up and cool down.  Everything else is up for grabs.

Below is a rough framework of my home practice. I included a few suggestions for poses in each category, but please don’t feel limited. Have fun!

Warm Up:

At least 5 Sun Salutation A, followed by at least 5 Sun Salutation B. 

Category 1: Standing Poses

Postures like –

Warrior 1, 2, and 3

Triangle

Chair Pose

Tree

Baby Dancer

Down Dog

Extended Side Angle

Half Moon

High Lunge, and Low Lunge

Category 2: Arm Balances

Postures like –

Crow Pose

Hummingbird Pose

8 Angle Pose

Hurdler’s Pose

Fire Fly

Category 3: Forward Folds

Postures like –

Child’s Pose

Standing Forward Fold

Seated Forward Fold

Down Dog

Happy Baby

Category 4: Inversions

Postures like –

Headstand

Handstand

Forearm Stand

Plow

Shoulder Stand

Category 5 Backbends

Postures like –

Bridge

Cobra Pose

Pigeon

Bow Pose

Camel

Full Backbend (Urdva Danurasana)

Category 6: Seated & Twisting Poses

Postures like –

Cowface Pose

Logs on a Fire

Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)

Monkey Pose (Hanumanasana)

Hero Pose (Virasana)

Janu Sirsasana

Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana

Cool Down:

Postures like –

Savasana or seated meditation*

That’s it! You can condense it to a 25 minute practice, or expand it to last hours!

*I struggle with savasana at home. Mostly because I wake up snoring 45 minutes later. So when I practice at home, I swap out savasana for seated meditation. It’s never come easily to me, but I’ve found I’m more patient with myself when I’m on my own (and after I’ve worked off some physical energy).