Top tips for cultivating a home practice

For many, rather than regularly practicing at home, yoga is confined to 1-2 hours a week as a way to de-stress, unwind and as an active recovery day. The saying 'little and often' is so relevant  when it comes to yoga but it's difficult to find the time, the space or the discipline to practice outside of the yoga studio. So I have compiled a few tips to help you to cultivate your own home practice:

Time: Set your alarm clock just 10 minutes early and do a few rounds of sun salutations before you start the day, or take 5 minutes at lunch time to quietly sit with your breathing. Finding a set time and sticking to it every day will help you to create a routine. 

Place: This is often tricky, so try to find a quiet spot in the house or at work (I have been known to practice in the bathroom!) where you can switch off for a few minutes. If you are lucky enough to have a spare room or space you can dedicate to yoga that's great, but if not sometimes just setting the scene with some music or incense can help claim the space. 

How long: Your body and mind will benefit from just 5 minutes of focusing in on itself. You can practice for 2 hours if you want, but for most of us who have families and jobs it's just unrealistic to expect to be able to do this every day. Set yourself a goal that you can achieve - 10-20 minutes is fine, and you can always make time for a longer practice once or twice a week. 

Which asana?: It can be really difficult to choose which asana or pranayama technique to practice, especially if you are a beginner. I have always enjoyed practicing Ashtanga at home because I don't have to think about what comes next, I just follow the sequence, and the structure really helps me. There are also countless online classes that you can take on Youtube and on various websites. When I feel like a more playful practice I will often follow one of these, and I love learning new ways to practice an asana. 

Choosing the correct asana and pranayama require knowledge and understanding - if you really want to deepen your self practice I would suggest taking a few workshops that delve into the world of yoga! It is a subject which constantly has more to teach, and through practice and self enquiry you will always be learning. 

A home practice is great because it is something that you are able to do yourself, to yourself, without needing anyone or anything. This is the reason I started teaching yoga - I wanted to be able to give this gift to other people. Whether you want to become more flexible or manage your stress levels yoga is an amazing tool. You have the ability to access this tool whenever you want... so get practicing!! 

Yoga for Crossfit

Continuing on the theme of 'Yoga for....' I thought I'd write a blog about how Yoga compliments high intensity exercise such as Crossfit (although it could be any other form of workout/weight lifting/HIIT etc) with a few of my favourite 'post workout' asana. Whilst these activities seem to contradict each other, lots of us find the fast pace acts as an energising yang to the calming yin of our yoga practice. It's also just nice to mix it up a bit, trying different styles of yoga and different forms of exercise to keep the body on its toes! 

Crossfit combines weight lifting with high intensity aerobic and anaerobic workouts. The quadriceps, hamstrings and shoulder muscles are used A LOT and it's therefore really important to give them a bit of TLC. The following asana are great for this:

Eagle Pose stretches out the shoulder blades. You can do just the arms, or cross the legs, sitting back in chair pose which will test your balance!! For the arms, cross one arm over the other and interlace your palms. As you exhale start to draw your arms away from your, lifting them up slightly. Use your breath to move you deeper into the pose, being gentle.

Lizard pose (Utthan Pristhasana) helps to open the hips, which can get really tight when doing lots of squats!! You can come down onto your hands, or place a block underneath your forearms if the stretch is too intense. Try not to let your front foot roll out too much, keep grounding through the big toe and pressing into the back foot as you sink your hips down. 

Pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakoptasana) is another great stretch for the hips and glutes. Keep pressing into the outside edge of your front foot to protect the knee, and try to keep your back foot in line with your leg. You can keep your body up or walk your hands forwards and rest your forehead on them for a deeper stretch

From pigeon you can come into a great quadricep and hip stretch by bending your back leg up and drawing it in towards your thigh/buttock. Try to keep the hip of your back leg moving forwards to prevent your hips from twisting. If  you can't reach the foot you can wrap a strap/scarf around the foot and hold on to this instead. To deepen the stretch bring the foot into your elbow crease. 

An alternative is to bring your front foot up into a lunge first, and then bend your back leg up. You can either twist here, or keep your body and shoulders facing forwards. Keep squaring your hips to the front of your mat and try to gently resist your hand with your foot. 

Cow face (Gomukhasana) with the legs and arms helps to open the chest and access your hips. If it's uncomfortable to sit in this position come to kneeling or sit comfortably. As you breath out try to draw your elbows towards the centre line of your body, whilst gently tucking your pelvis under to prevent your lower back arching. If you can't reach fingertips hold on to a strap or scarf.

There are so many more asana, each having a different focus, but these are a good starting point and building block. If you are doing any form of intense exercise it's really important to rest and stretch in order to prevent injury. Your nervous system is also placed under a lot of stress and it needs time to recover otherwise you will 'over train'. Therefore the benefits of yoga go beyond just 'stretching' (we all know this!!). Focusing on your breath helps to calm the nervous system leading to more successful recovery. It also helps to focus your mind, which is something we all need. There is a culture of pushing your body to it's limits, constantly bettering yourself and your performance... which is ok, progression is a good thing! But sometimes it's also ok to give yourself some time to just 'be' in your body. Having greater body awareness will help you to notice which parts are weak, which are over compensating in an exercise, which areas are tight, and all of this will improve your performance. The benefits are endless.... 

Yoga for Runners

Yoga for Runners

I have had a number of requests for hand outs, resources and specific yoga asana to help with different sports and conditions, so I thought I would share some of my responses. Iam going to attempt to make some video tutorials, but anyone who knows me knows I'm not one to be in front of the camera so it might take a while! The first is a request for information on yoga for runners...

Yoga and running complement each other well; whilst running helps to strengthen muscles yoga helps to stretch them out. The breathing exercises (pranayama) in yoga, and even the long, deep breath throughout a yoga practice, help improve breathing when running. For me, running is a way to feel a sense of freedom - from my surroundings, my thoughts - I have constant itchy feet and it's a way to feel like I'm moving even when I'm staying still! Since running more I have altered my yoga practice, especially post run, to complement the running and minimise aches and injury. Below are just a few of my favourites:

Half splits is a great pose to stretch out the hamstrings and calves. Come into a lunge with your back knee down, and place your hands on the floor or on blocks. Point your front foot up and start to sink backwards almost so that you are sitting on your heel, but not quite (too far and you loose the stretch!). Keep your back straight, drawing your chest towards your chin. 

Upward Facing Dog (Urdvha mukha svanasana) helps to lengthen the front of the body and open up the chest. (You can come down into a Cobra but simply bending your elbows and lowering your body if this is too much for your back.) This area is often overlooked for runners, but can get tight as you work your core and hold your arms up! Keep your shoulders over your wrists and draw your shoulder blades together on your back, rolling the head of the arm bones back. Press into your toes and, if you can, lift your thighs, all the time engaging your core by drawing your belly back to your spine. 

Downward Facing Dog (Adho mukha svanasana) helps to stretch out the back and backs of the legs. Ground through the base of your fingers, soften through your chest as if you were trying to get your chest to touch your thighs, and draw your navel back towards your spine. Then lift your sitting bones up, firm your thighs and press the backs of the knees towards the back of the room. If your heels touch the ground great, but if not don't worry. 

Parsvottanasana is another great stretch for the backs of the legs and the back. Square your hips to the front of the mat, turning your back foot in deeply. bring your hands to the ground (you can also bring them to a block, or bring them behind your back to hold your elbows/reverse prayer to open the chest and shoulders).  Inhale to lengthen your spine and exhale, folding in towards your leg. Focus on your foot, keeping your back and neck long. 

Virasana helps to stretch out the quadriceps and hips. You can sit up on a pillow or block if you find it hard to sit all the way down. For an even deeper pose, slowly lower yourself into Hero (supta virasana) with your back on the ground. Keep lengthening your tailbone towards your heels, trying not to over arch your lower back. If you feel any pain (especially in the knees) come out of the pose gently. 

Supta padangusthasana helps to lengthen the hamstrings. Lying on your back, place a strap around the ball of your raised foot keeping your arms straight. Draw the toes towards you whilst extending through the heel. As you breath out, gently draw the raised leg towards you trying to keep it straight. Repeat on the other side.

Viparita karani is the most relaxing way to end a practice. Simply shuffle yourself towards the wall and lie with your legs up, supported by the wall. You can place a cushion under your head for comfort, or you can place one under your hips helping to elevate them slightly. 

Enjoy... !