I have an admission to make. I didn’t do a “real” home practice this week. Sure, I did 10 minutes of seated meditation here and there. I almost always do some seated stretches and standing folds at some point in the day. And, I usually end the day with a little pre-bed asana. But, I didn’t get to a dedicated full-on home practice.
So, what is the problem? What is in my way? I suspect that the things that get in my way are not unique to me, so perhaps a little reflection on what the blockages are is in order.
- Time – Time gets in my way for home practice. Currently, I have a vinyasa, yin, or teacher training class scheduled for every day of the week. Then I have work Monday-Friday and every other Sunday. Then there are family commitments. It’s hard to find a good time to fit the practice in, and this relates directly to…
- Prioritization – Going to class, cooking for my family, going to work – in all of these things I feel an obligation to others. I feel like I have let someone down if they don’t get done or don’t get done well. Guilt is a motivator for me (probably sadly) to be sure that all of those things fit into my day. But, a home yoga practice is just for me – no one else. So, it’s easy to push it aside and leave it for the “leftover” time.
- Distraction – In a studio class, I can easily focus, because everyone there is doing the same thing and there aren’t competing activities going on. At home, I can hear the laundry (that I need to switch over), the kids having that argument (that I need to solve), the whining dogs (that I should take out). It’s insanely easy to come to the mat and then distract myself so much that I don’t really even get started.
- Uncertainty – I’m still not sure what to do in a home practice. When I do my home practice, I typically do a modified ashtanga practice, because it is all I can think of to do. That’s fine, but I can pretty quickly zip through the poses I am “up to” in the primary series and have only done a very short practice. I’m hoping that as training continues, I will feel more comfortable with my own ability to put together a practice for even myself.
These are the biggies for me. I know I need to get past them, because it’s necessary for my own practice and for teacher training. So, in the coming week, I vow to get’er done.
How about you? What gets in your way for yoga practice at home? Or, if not, what do you love about it?
Namaste,
L