Up-leveling Your Home Practice
Given the current trend in home and online-supported yoga practices I thought it apropos to offer a few simple steps to really making your home practice less of a temporary fix, and more of a long-term studio replacement…
In a lot of ways I prefer the online practice…there I said it.
Sure, I miss the human to human connection of the studio, but outside of Outlaw Yoga there are so few places that really encourage this in the first place.
In the absence of some tattooed asshole ‘making you meet your neighbor’ so many studios are sterile vacuums for connection, displaying signs reading “Respect the silence of the sacred space” like you’re in a church’s inner sanctum or something.
That connective aspect of the small, community aside, the home and online-supported practice is really the faster track to a strong practice and here’s why…
Most yoga platforms have an ad hoc ‘squeaky wheel gets the grease’ operational policy…if you engage with the content by asking a clarifying question in the Outlaw Yoga Member’s ONLY Facebook Group, for instance, I – or, one of our senior instructors – will usually respond by recording and posting a video answering it (try it there or elsewhere – or, if you’re not in the group try it FREE for 7 days.)
There’s no dress codes, no cliques, and no judgement (except your own). You can fart with impunity or even imbibe a cocktail…hell, you can fuckin’ eat while you practice if for some reason you wanted to…
Instead of shagging your ass around town looking for the best yoga instructor, you have all-star instructors from around the entire world available at the click of a finger…furthermore, there’s a video for everything…literally.
Seriously, I used to shag my ass for hours around Denver looking for the best and brightest teachers…I found myself sitting in traffic freaking out about getting to one such class, when it dawned on me – I was a yoga teacher. I turned around and drove home, realizing no teacher, no matter how gifted, was going to know my body better than me…ever.
The sooner you develop the mindful ability to hone in on and correct your own imbalances, the better – this is the point of a self-reliant home, online-supported practice.
One can conceivably and with minimal effort learn yoga from the single most suited teacher for them on the planet, not on your block and this at a fraction of the price of a typical studio membership.
That trend of accessibility is only going to continue – the internet’s not going anywhere until we all go somewhere (e.g. extinct, or wherever’s next).
(Cue ominous sound of an old, dial-up internet.)
If you have a yoga interest that you cannot find a resource for online, then you are likely not searching right (seriously, this is a problem – I usually solve it by having a more tech savvy – read, younger – person do my searches for me…“Oh, ‘nude yoga’…I see it now. Thanks!”)
Child care has a chance to be less of a hinderance to the practice – you can practice with your kids or your pups on your mat…that said, it can be helpful to set a schedule or to find one – we offer a monthly practice calendar to all Outlaw Yoga Club email subscribers outlining the best class to take by day in a given month, but you are the final arbiter of what time and class is best for your body.
Zoom and LIVE classes allow for a semblance of connection during times of separation. Just remember to consider your camera angle for optimum online engagement – if all a teacher can see is your butthole, then they aren’t going to comment too much on your practice…trust me.
Even the little guys and Outlaws among us, ahem, have apps to take your practice anywhere (did I mention we have Apple, Android, and Roku?). Pick the length, intensity, and focus of the class you need specifically in real time.
It’s not even that there’s more good than bad to practicing at home supported by a teacher online – it’s more like there’s more great than good…
Don’t forget to take some time to make your home practice space uniquely suitable for – one of the great gifts a studio often gives someone is the care that goes into setting a mindful environment (we spend hours on this skill in our Yoga Teacher Training).
This is, sadly, often neglected when making space for yourself to practice at home.
But, guess what – you’re worth it.
Buy some plants, get out your old humidifier and incense holder…invite a friend or family member (just set em up off-camera if you’ve only paid for one spot!).
It’s a great time to be a student, cause any good student in any discipline drives themselves. And there has never been a more accommodating self-study environment yet to be seen in the yoga universe.
Right now…there’s nowhere you can’t go, including enrolling in a sign-up anytime, do anywhere Yoga Teacher Training such as our own industry leading program – our latest group is starting March 19th but you can enroll anytime.
Why not take a spin through internet yoga land? Recommit to taking better care of yourself…try a few free trials – just remember to opt-out of them before they ding you…and if they charge you – use them, damn it then deliberately decide at the end of the billing cycle if you still want it!
I can’t tell you how many people I see who remember they’re a member once a month (when they’re charged) only to quit once they have – at least use it for that month, fuck…
Use the next few months to shred the quarantine salad…to get ready in mind and body for your best spring/summer yet.
We’ll be grateful to see you in person as soon as it’s safe, Outlaws! Until then, use the apps…
Good luck, Yogis!
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Justin “Jud” Kaliszewski is the best-selling yoga teacher and renowned creator of Outlaw Yoga. Author. Artist. Adventurer. Take his class NOW at outlawyogaclub.com and www.youtube.com/outlawyoga. Find his writing and art at www.justinkaliszewski.com and his presence all over the internet – for an outlaw, he’s shockingly easy to get ahold of.