Practising yoga at home brings its challenges. We have to resort to using spaces in a multi-functional way, we get distracted by the housework and every time we go to step on our mat the dog needs walking, the door bell rings or we start noticing all the little patches of dust. Sound familiar?!

So how can we create our own yoga sanctuaries? A space where we can retreat to, feel calm in and stay focused during our practice.

We start by letting go of the idea that it’s got to look like your favourite yoga studio - because let’s be real, unless you are lucky enough to have a spare room in your house that you can design beautifully, sound proof and can shut yourself away in, then it’s not going to look like one!

So instead work through these 4 steps:

1. Where?

   Pick a room or an area in your house that you will use as your space. Try to keep this consistent but know it doesn’t have to be a permanent fixture - you can roll your mat up!

2. What?

   Gather the things you need, a mat or towel, any props, a candle, maybe a speaker to play music. If it’s not a permanent space, pop all these bits in a box so they are easy to access and quick to set up.

3. The Right Ambience

   What ambience do you want to create? How could you do this? Is it a certain smell, a particular play list, the lighting, maybe even the temperature. Set the space up in a way that helps you to evoke the desired emotions. If it’s about creating a calming space pick the smell and the soundtrack that brings you into this feeling.

4. What is the Pre-Action?

   Ask yourself, what must I do before I step on the mat? Maybe that’s lighting a candle, popping your phone on silence, putting the washing away, telling a partner that you are about to practice or maybe even giving the dog a hug. Limit the distractions so that you can stay focused during your practice.

I hope that helps. I just redesigned my home yoga space and it’s made such a huge difference to my practice. There’s less barriers, distractions and all I need to do is light my favourite candle and I’m into my happy place.

If you would like some help creating your home space, send me a picture of what it currently looks like over on Instagram and I’ll help you make some simple changes.