A lot of yoga students want to know how to start practicing yoga at home. Aside from the numerous health benefits, yoga can help you with self-exploration and achievement as you explore and perfect your daily yoga practice.

Practicing yoga at home can help you achieve the benefits of yoga much faster than you would by limiting your yoga practice to studio sessions.

In this guide, we’ll give you what you need to start practicing home yoga at home easily including introductory asana and meditation tips.

Looking to watch the routine? Click here to see it.

Why Practice Yoga at Home?

Most people start practicing yoga at home because they want to learn more about yoga. Weekly, private, and regular studio yoga classes aren’t enough. And eager yogis know that with more practice, they can dive deeper into a sense of balance and self-awareness. 

Benefits to a Daily Yoga Routine at Home:

• More Time to Practice: With home yoga practice, you can take a yoga class whenever and wherever you like for as often as you like.
• Exponential Growth: With more practice sessions, you’ll rapidly progress through your yoga classes, gaining more experience rapidly.
• Develop a Natural Coping Mechanism: A home yoga practice provides consistency and routine in the face of uncertainty, giving you the ability to self-regulate and self-soothe in any situation.
• Achieve Balance: Your regular, home yoga practice provides a familiar space to get more in tune with your body and the fluctuations of your mind, helping you release emotions, countering adverse feelings you may experience throughout your day.
• Convenience: Home yoga sessions are designed to be practiced virtually anywhere, day or night. That means no more traffic, waiting in line, or planning your day around your yoga class.
• Comfort: When you practice at home, you can wear whatever’s comfortable. 
• Privacy: Self-conscious? Want to try new types of yoga but you’re nervous? Don’t worry. When you practice yoga at home, you can do it without anyone watching you. 
• Less Expensive: Streaming unlimited online yoga classes is often much more affordable than private classes or signing up for studio classes.
• Socially Distant. Free from disruption by any protective public health measures, you can practice yoga safely in your home.

Can I Learn Yoga on My Own?

The short answer is yes. When we begin practicing yoga it can feel a bit intimidating. But, self-exploration and consistent practice inevitably lead to becoming skilled at yoga. 

In fact, many well-respected yoga teachers began practicing at home with their families, reading books, or watching videos.

Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years, starting as early as 2700 BC. That’s long before yoga studios, recordings or the internet were ever around! 

As long as you’re self-motivated and disciplined, you can absolutely practice yoga successfully on your own

What You Need to Start Practicing Yoga at Home

Usually, I recommend you get a mat, two blocks, a strap, and a blanket or towel before you start practicing yoga at home. But do not let this stop you! You can start on your floor, a carpet, whatever! 

You’ll also need to set up space for practicing yoga at home. Check out our post about creating your personal yoga space for more information on setting up the perfect environment for your next class. 

How to Prepare Your Mind for Home Yoga: 

Outside of the physical, there are a lot of steps you should take mentally to prepare for your yoga classes. Here’s how: 

• Create a Routine: Make sure you mark a time for your yoga sessions on your calendar. Creating a routine and sticking to it are part of the yoga practice. 
• Listen to Your Body: Self-exploration, study, and awareness are your best friends on your yoga mat. Listen to your body and learn where to push, pause, and back off. 
• Take Care of Your Health: Drink water all day long and add an extra glass after a particularly intense session. 
• Make It Fun: Whether you’re following along with one of our amazing yoga teachers or following a guide and on your own, play some music, light a candle, set the lights how you like them, and enjoy!

How Much Time Do You Need to Practice Yoga at Home?

Consistency is key. But, we all know that our time is precious. Regardless of your goals or lifestyle, if you can practice for 20 minutes a day, five days a week, you will begin to notice differences within a week. 

Once you begin doing this, you’ll desire longer practice sessions. This will lead you to find time for 60-90 minute sessions at least 1-3 times per week.  

The idea is to start by creating a healthy pattern, and then build on that foundation. Be realistic about your physical and emotional health. Setting overly aggressive goals may leave you disappointed or frustrated, and this can be counter-productive!

Types of Yoga For for Beginners

If you are considering taking online or studio classes in addition to practicing on your own, Lyengar, Restorative and a mix of Hatha-flow yoga are ideal springboards. 

These types of yoga are slow and help you to learn your body’s strengths and natural ranges and types of movements. 

Importantly, they are very alignment-based and present less opportunity for injury or strain. You can find all of these yoga classes (and more) on The Soule Collective!

Mix it up!  

While it may be tempting to learn and stick to the same yoga routines once you become familiar with them, it’s best to mix it up. Variety is better for our bodies physically and mentally. 

Our bodies benefit from movement in all directions. And our minds connect to that variety. When we challenge the body with different movements and balancing postures, we also increase neural plasticity and the overall health of our brain and nervous system. 

Additionally, mixing it up keeps us from becoming bored and abandoning our practice altogether!

Get Started: Practicing Yoga at Home

This routine works for the most resistant mindsets- you know who you are! Do it for two weeks and let us know how it goes! 

Introductory Home Yoga Routine

Starting tomorrow morning, do the following:

1. Get out of bed (in your pajamas, your birthday suit—whatever you slept in) and stand up in Tadasana, the mountain pose.
2. Take three sun breaths (half sun salutations), synchronizing your breath to the movements.
3. Make your way to your hands and knees, (by lowering down to hands and knees or by stepping back into plank from your forward fold/uttanasana). Do three to six slow, easy cat/cow vinyasas on your breath.
4. Move into downward-facing dog (adho mukha svanasana) and hold for 6-10 breaths.
5. Step forward to half-forward fold (ardha uttanasana). Fold on the exhale. And inhale up to mountain pose, tadasana.
6. Sit down on the edge of your bed or a chair, close your eyes, and watch your breath. Do this for 10-15 cycles of your breath. 
7. When you’re finished, blink your eyes open and move into the rest of your day!

Making Yoga a Routine

Once you’re comfortable with this routine, you should take a few steps to make sure you stick with the habit. These are a few great ways to remember your daily yoga classes.

• Choose your practice time. Look at your weekly calendar and pick a dedicated time to give 30 minutes of practice in your daily schedule. Start with a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule OR a Tuesday/Thursday if you are more inclined to put it off
• Book the times in your calendar as repeating for 4 straight weeks. 
• Begin right away. Don’t wait until “the start of next week” to get begin! 

Beginner’s Home Yoga Routine

This routine works for yogis who have consistently practiced in a studio 2-3 times a week or have private instruction once a week. In other words, you get it but you’re not getting started.  

1. Begin seated comfortably in your yoga space, close your eyes, and rest your palms on your thighs or knees. Watch 10-15 cycles of your breath. Afterward, blink your eyes open and practice this sequence, from your seated position: 
2. Inhale and lift your arms, exhale, twist to your right and lower arms. Then repeat to the left. Do this 3 times.
3. Lift both arms overhead, interlace your fingers, and turn your palms towards the ceiling
4. As you exhale, turn your palms down, and drop your arms to shoulder height, round your spine and press your knuckles forward
5. Inhale, stretch your arms wide at shoulder height and create a gentle arch along your spine
6. Lower your arms, crawl out to hands and knees as you move into downward facing dog
7. Walk your feet to your hands and slowly roll up to stand. 
8. Do 3 Sun Salutations, A Series.
9. Transition to a wide stance on the mat, moving to Warrior II on one side. Maintain the posture for three breaths. 
10. Return to a wide stance, parallel feet, forward fold into Fan Pose. Hold for three breaths. Then, take Warrior II on the other side for three breaths
11. Tadasana
12. Come onto your back, knees bent, feet on the floor. Begin dynamic bridge: inhale arms up and over as you lift your hips, exhale lower hips and arms return to your side, 3-5 rounds. Lastly, hold the bridge pose for 5-7 breaths.
13. Hug knees into chest, place feet on the floor and separate mat distance, then windshield wiper your knees from side to side.
14. One more squeeze of knees into your chest. Then, spread out onto your mat for savasana, corpse pose, for 5-10 minutes. (It’s nice to set a time for this so you can relax completely without worrying about falling asleep). 
15. Finished!

Let us know how it goes. We love your feedback!

As you work toward making yoga a daily part of your life, these routines will help get you into the habit of taking time out for yourself to move, meditate, and grow. But, as you continue practicing yoga at home yoga, you’re going to need more…

Get Unlimited Online Yoga Classes

The best way to get more out of your daily yoga practice is to try online yoga classes. You can choose from a range of classes you can follow from the comfort of your home (or wherever you are). The Soule Collective offers a range of online yoga classes designed for every level of yoga student. 

Beginner, intermediate, advanced, you can explore our vast online library of yoga classes and find what works best for you. Our expert teachers are waiting to guide you toward bliss and a deeper connection with your inner you.

All you need is a computer or a mobile device and you can start streaming from The Soule Collective today!