Setting your Yoga Space
- Chelsey Mills
- Oct 2, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 1, 2022
Feeling inspired to come onto the mat can be so much easier some days more than others. It’s so easy to slip out of routine with our yoga practice with our modern and busy day-to-day lives, not leaving much space for ‘you’ time.
My experience with making time for yoga has varied lots since I first started, I’ve been on both sides, two weeks could pass without practicing or another day I could find enough motivation and time to practice twice in one day. While I feel amazing when I do practice, I'm learning to be more kind with myself on the days or weeks where I don’t make it onto the mat. The rest is just as important as the work, there is no need to put additional pressure on yourself to achieve, that’s not what this is about. Finding balance in your practice is key, have reasonable expectations of yourself and create a setting that helps you to fall more in love with yoga.
Setting a yoga space is very personal and may completely differ from one person to another, there is a lot in our lives that are not in our control and setting is more than likely one of them.
We aren't all able to wake up in beautiful yoga studio, or on a balcony in Bali ~ or wherever your dream yoga practice would take place ~ but we can make the most of what we have, and in all honesty – all we need is our bodies and breath. I have practiced yoga in all kinds of places, my bedroom, the lounge room, kitchen, hotels, next to a chicken coup even my bathroom (it was the only warm room during winter!) and it really does not matter where you are. I used to fixate on the ~perfect~ yoga setting, the picture-perfect space, it took up quite a lot of my energy! The true benefits from yoga are found from within, not your external surroundings or material objects. But I do find a lot of joy and contentment with some of the additions to my yoga setting and the more I practice, the more this evolves, the more I evolve.
So here I will share with you the simple pleasures of my yoga setting and maybe it will help to inspire yours…
Morning Yoga
My favourite time of the day to practice yoga is in the morning, I’ve always been one of ~ those ~ morning people who like to get up and get it done in the morning, so that's the time of the day that feels easiest and most natural for me.
I like morning yoga, the time in the morning feels so sacred, it is quiet and still, the world is slowly awakening around me, the morning sun feels so energising, my tummy has been fasting overnight. The morning practice sets me up for the rest of my morning, feeling light and calm through my morning and the rest of the day.
If you are really not a morning person or you have other commitments at that time, late afternoon or evening yoga is also a lovely time of day to practice. It’s a great time of day as our bodies are starting to prepare to relax as the sun sets, the hustle and bustle of the day is starting to settle as most of us arrive home from work, it’s a great way to kind of de-brief with yourself after your day and prepare your body for rest.
I like to make sure my body has had time to digest what I have eaten that day before I practice, so late afternoon or early evening is generally a good time as it’s just before dinner! General rule for me is to wait an hour or two after eating before yoga.
Sun / warmth
A big part of feeling motivated to come onto the mat for me is being warm and comfortable. Nothing can beat a beautiful sunny morning where it’s warm enough to practice outside, those kinds of days I will literally spring out of bed, so excited to stretch!
It’s the days where it’s cold, gloomy, rainy those wintery days that can be the most difficult - and sometimes it’s okay to skip the yoga and sleep, sometimes that’s exactly what our bodies need.
But to get myself motivated on those days that’s when I like to put more effort into the setting. It’s those kinds of days where I get a little bit extra, maybe get some candles, a hot cup of tea, warm socks and make the whole experience more inviting. If you can be by a heater that definitely helps, or if the sun is able to shine I love to set up in a space that allows me to see the sunshine or bathe under the sunlight.
Sounds
In my YTT (Yoga Teacher Training) we were encouraged to practice in silence as this is how yoga was practiced traditionally. This was a challenge for me, I had only experienced yoga by going to classes at Yoga Studios, where music is almost always a part of it!
Throughout my training I honoured the traditional practice without music, I had really beautiful experiences doing that. It surprised me that listening to music was actually something I relied on to distract my mind, I guess giving me the false sensation of clearing my mind, yet I was focusing my mind to the music, the lyrics, the beats, the vibrations.
I found that practicing without music forced me to practice clearing my mind with no external distractions (not easy!) I still love yoga with music and can totally appreciate the benefits without music, so I try to balance the two.
I have created a playlist for slow flow or sun salutations (morning flow) which you are more than welcome to save for your next yoga practice:
- Sunrise Express https://music.apple.com/au/playlist/sunrise-express/pl.u-r2yB1GGCPjExgL
It’s also lovely to incorporate a sound bath, just with a singing bowl, at the end of the practice – it's the icing on the cake after meditation, sounds beautiful and feels beautiful.
Smells
I like to burn incense while practicing, not only does it smell beautiful, it can be a visual meditation by focusing in on the smoke making shapes and wiggling in the breeze as it burns.
Smells are linked to our memories, so by using the same kind of smells / incense helps my body remember I am here to feel calm, to stretch and to meditate. I also feel that helps to get me in the right state of mind for yoga.
My favourite incense for yoga practice is Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa Agarbatti or Satya Nag Champa Mystic Yoga. Anything you like though, could be a yummy candle, essential oil diffuser or some sage!
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