Why yoga at home is simple, fun and rewarding

The studios had a hard time with the swine flu. As the public became more interested in yoga, in-person classes came to an abrupt stop. Coffee tables were replaced with yoga mats as a new paradigm emerged, with its roots in the ascetic practices of medieval India. Students learned how to use the mute button to stop the kids from playingFortnite while teachers struggled with online payments and video conferencing.

It turned out that yoga was going to come back. Almost all of the yoga students and teachers continued their classes from home, more than double the number who had ever done it before. There is a new normal two and a half years later. Like office life, yoga has settled into a hybrid pattern that combines in- person and at- home practice. It isn't new at all.

Any serious yoga student is told to live alone, in a well-administered and virtuous kingdom, and to maintain a clean practice room in the medieval yoga handbook. If, like me, you are 0 for 3 on those, there is a more practical piece of advice in the next verse: yoga should be practised at home.

For much of yoga’s history, solitary practice was typical

For most of the history of yoga, a combination of personal instruction and solitary practice at home was the norm. After going to your guru for a new piece of instruction, you would return home and practice until you were ready for the next lesson. The group yoga class, where a room full of people all perform the same set of postures simultaneously, was invented in the 20th century. The revival of yoga in India began in the 1930's. A group of teachers based in Mysore stirred the traditional practice into a melting pot of Swedish gymnastics, Indian classical dance and other strands of physical culture. Up until 2020, the type of yoga class most widely recognised in the west will be one instructor leading 20 or so students through a 90-minute sequence of postures.

What will happen now that the 20th century model is disrupted? Despite the losses to the yoga industry, I believe this reconfiguration is positive for yoga. It's a myth that "proper yoga" is something that only happens in a specific location under professional instruction, and letting go of that idea allows more people to discover the fundamental benefits for themselves. A serious student of yoga is expected to cultivate qualities of restraint in all areas of their lives, from chastity to non-covetousness.

Developing a capacity for self-practice, instead of following a teacher's instructions, feels in keeping with this outlook. Peer pressure is a distant memory and no one can hear you fart if you are alone in your living room.

You need to figure out the hybrid that works for you. Get a lot of face-to-face teaching if you are new to yoga. It is possible to be happy with less frequent live classes, supplemented by video classes and self-guided practice. If you can afford it, one-to-one sessions with a teacher can be a revelation.

It should be short and constant. If you can do it several times a week, you don't need 90 minutes for every session.

It's possible to create a ritual. This will allow you to separate yoga from your daily life. It doesn't have to be prayer or incense, just put aside the laptop or Lego, set up the space just the way you like, and act like you're still.

Stay on top of what's happening. The Sanskrit word meaning austerity or self- discipline is one of the key tenets of yoga. Keeping a practice diary or checking in with a yoga buddy can be helpful.

A practice plan is a must. Do you want to feel better after your yoga sessions? It will lead you to a key pose. Work towards that pose, build in a warm-up, and experiment with relaxing counter-poses afterwards. You will be surprised how much your body knows if you just move on the mat. Four or five different poses can add up to 20 minutes. It's a good idea to write it down and draw a stick figure doing each pose so that you can see it while you practice. Roll out the mat, ignore the stray socks under the sofa, and you're good to go. Each time you practice, do the same sequence. When you are ready to make a change, change it.

Downward-facing dog wants to feel strong and steady. 35m stray dogs are found in the Indian subcontinent, which is a tough place to live. The four-legged pose is a good example of strength and stability in an upside-down situation. Downward dog stretches the entire back line of the body from the crown to the heels and is great for building strength in the upper body. Warming up with cat pose, forward folds, cow face pose and plank is a good way to build strength and endurance. Take a rest in the child's pose.

I want to feel like the lord of the dance. The universe is governed by a dance performed by the god Shiva in Hindu cosmology, which1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 The pose named after him is full of grace and requires flexibility and focus. You can modify it, for example, by resting your hand on a wall and trying to bring one shoe to your butt. As you gain confidence, position your legs further from the wall. Warm up with lunges, cobra, pigeon and one leg warrior poses.

I would like to feel energetic and dynamic. The Mysore yoga revival of the 1930s featured this flowing sequence. It is similar to a fancy burpee: reach up, reach down, jump back, etc. It is the mainstay of most yoga classes and can become boring in that setting. You can really explore the form on your own, like a jazz musician, by changing the pace, throwing in some riffs and playing a long drum solo. There is no need for a warm-up when practicing the sun salutation.

The tree pose is calm and grounded. A tree is one of the most potent symbols of roots and reliability. The one-legged standing pose is an opportunity to channel the peace of the forest in your own home. Taking note of your wobbles and extending compassion to your inner wind-whipped sapling are some of the benefits of balancing poses. Warm up with gentle sunSalutations or similar movements and then lie down.

I would like to feel peaceful and centered. It is the ultimate goal of a yoga practice to sit still, and it is a balm for the mind and heart. Don't be afraid to dedicate most of your home practice to sitting and breathing when you're not feeling well. The way you cross your legs doesn't really matter, as long as you can sit comfortably for 5 minutes with an erect spine. Prepare for it with a warm-up that includes hip movements and seated forward bends.

The book is called Curious Poses: 30 yoga postures and the stories they tell.