Going from a CrossFit athlete to a zen yogi, this is my personal experience of how I started yoga at home and stuck with it…
My yoga journey first began a year ago when I decided to start syncing my exercise with my menstrual cycle. I’ll be honest with you, as someone who has always loved intense, sweaty and quick paced workouts, yoga was my idea of hell when it came to exercise. But as I was on a mission to take better care of my body and balance my hormones, I knew I had to find the yin to my yang.
I first discovered the benefits of yoga way back in 2020 after I attended a yoga class with my friend, Holly. It was an hour and a half long yoga flow (you can only imagine the dread I felt beforehand) and it was, to this day, probably one of the best flows I’ve experienced. I left feeling nourished – both my mind and body – and almost like I had been taken care of, while moving my body in weird and wonderful ways that I had never moved before.
So when I decided to finally start yoga at home, I already knew the wonderful way yoga could make me feel. I just had to start and commit myself to it! Unlike the gym, my issue was that I found it hard to show up on my yoga mat when I intended to. It wasn’t because I was lazy or didn’t like the idea of doing it at home, I struggled to find a flow I enjoyed, whilst also struggling with little structure. So how did I do it? Well, let’s dive into it, shall we?
Don’t have any expectations
First things first, let go of any expectations you may have. The worst thing you can possibly do when starting yoga is going in with the mentality that by so and so date you should feel like this and look like that. Na-uh, let’s forget that. Instead, allow yourself to fully let go and embrace the way yoga will make you feel in the next coming weeks.
Have an understanding of yoga
Having a basic understanding of yoga as a practice will not only help you with the above, but it’ll also help you understand how to breathe, think and act during your flows. Having a basic understanding of the poses as well will also help you get started with your first flow so you can piece together each pose for your first flow. My advice though is to not worry so much about how you look in each posture, but rather how you feel. Following a basic YouTube video is a great place to get started!
Create a relationship with your breathing
I remember when I first started yoga and Holly said to me that she didn’t really connect with her flow until she understood the connection her breathe had on her postures. Of course at the time I had no idea what she was on about, but when I finally connected with it too, that’s when I really developed a love for yoga.
Understanding how important your breathe is in yoga is crucial when it comes to reaping the benefits. Being conscious of how you breathe during your flow will allow you to connect to the subtle energy within. Moreover, breathing has a power affect on our mental, physical and emotional state too, which yoga can absolutely tap into.
Join a free programme on YouTube
Having a gym membership and paying for additional yoga classes wasn’t an option for me, so instead I decided to commit myself to a free yoga programme on YouTube for free in the comfort of my own home. I honestly believe that because I joined a 30 day free yoga programme (I love Yoga with Adriene), it gave me the motivation to keep on going because everything was planned out for me. Of course you need to find the right instructor for you before you commit to the challenge, but once you do its a great way for you to get going.
Find a yoga intructor who you vibe with
As I just mentioned, finding a yoga instructor who you like and enjoy is really important when it comes to yoga and being able to stick with it. I would totally recommend identifying what kind of yoga flow you enjoy and the benefits you’d like to see from your daily yoga sessions, once you do that, you’ll have more of an understanding of what you want to get from each instructor.
For example, when I started yoga I disliked slow-paced flows and instructors who focused heavily on mindfulness, however, now, I totally love it. So the instructors who I initially didn’t vibe with, are now by go-to instructors because my mindset and goals have totally changed over the past year.
Typing your keywords (e.g, your goals and flow style) into YouTube along with ‘yoga’ can help direct you to the right instructor for you! And if in doubt, search for the best YouTube Yoga Instructors on google!
Have you tried yoga before? I’d love to know if you prefer studio flows or home flows. Let me know in the comments below!
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Disclaimer: this post in sponsored by adidas.
