9 TIPS TO PRACTICE YOGA AT HOME.

Daily yoga practice at home can help you stay healthy, more productive, calm and happy all day. Besides, these benefits are not just for you to enjoy. Doing these practices at home will not only keep you happy but your family members too will be able to feel the positive energy and happiness around. What’s more, you get a chance to practice them right in the comfort of your home, any time you wish.
Once you have learned yoga techniques properly from a Art of Living Yoga teacher, and are comfortable, you can start practicing them on your own. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you prepare yourself for a fun yoga practice at home.

• 1: Choose a convenient time

Practise yoga in the morning is generally considered to be the best as it keeps energy levels high during the day. Yet, if it doesn’t happen, don’t let it be an excuse to skip your practice. You may choose a time slot which seems most convenient. It could be late mornings, before lunch, or evenings. Yoga at these times can also be a good way to refresh the mind and release stress collected during the day.

• 2: Choose a comfortable place

It would be best to have a small, private room in your house for daily yoga practice. Over time, your practices will create positive vibrations in the room, providing healing, strength and comfort to you and others at home. However, in case it is not possible, you may choose a quiet space anywhere at home, which is large enough to roll out your yoga mat and where you know you are not likely to be disturbed for a while.
All you need to ensure is that your yoga space is clean, well-ventilated, and away from furniture or sharp objects (learn more about a yogis home).

• 3: Practice on a relatively empty stomach

Yoga postures are always best practiced on a light or empty stomach. You can practice yoga poses and meditate about 2-3 hours after your meal.

• 4: Keep your yoga wear simple

Go for loose, comfortable clothing – you wouldn’t want tight body-hugging outfits coming in the way of doing some wide stretches! Also, keep aside any excessive jewelry that you are wearing and avoid heavy makeup.

• 5: Warm up before doing intense yoga postures

This is an absolute must, else you may be at risk of straining your muscles. Start by warming up your body and do a few body stretches to bring flexibility, before moving on to more intense yoga postures..

• 6: It is your own body; be gentle on it

Respect your body and do yoga poses gently with a smile. Doing them increasingly fast or going beyond what your body can take will not bring faster results. It will only make the practice more difficult and painful.

• 7: Be consistent

It is very important to be regular with your yoga practice – make it a part of your daily schedule (as mentioned above, find a time slot where you can comfortably fit yoga in) and then it would be easier to make it a habit. Krishan Verma, senior Art of Living Yoga teacher says, "Twenty minutes of daily yoga practice is more likely to show positive results sooner than two hours of occasional practice."

• 8: Make yoga time as ‘family fun time’

When you practice alone, it might get boring after a while or you may simply become lazy. Try doing it with family or friends and see the difference! Practicing yoga at home can be a great way for a family get-together. Learn more about how you can enrich your family time with yoga.

• 9: Include a variety of yoga techniques

Practice a variety of yoga poses and breathing techniques, or if you are crunched for time, you may fix a set of practices to be done daily and then treat your body with the complete package on a Sunday! Also, be sure to end your yoga pose practice with yoga nindra.

Remember that yoga practice does not only include yoga postures. Our home yoga sessions should also make room for other techniques such as pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation, and Sudarshan Kriya (if you have done the Happiness Programme.