Friday, April 22, 2011

Personal Yoga Space

I was browsing YouTube videos tonight and came across one by my friend and mentor Leeann Carey. (LCY video tips ) Let me admit here that I have placed Leeann on a bit of a pedestal. I'm not sure I'll ever learn as much as she can teach me, but if I'm half the teacher she is I'll be thrilled.

Leeann's YouTube video was shot in her home yoga studio. So, keeping in mind the glamorous vision I've created for her, imagine my surprise when on one side of her yoga mat was a book shelf and on the other side was her desk.

Wait, where was the cliff overlooking the ocean? Where were the birds chirping and breeze blowing? Does the lovely Leeann really have to squeeze her mat in between real life too?

Here is my normal home yoga practice place. It's the corner of my bedroom, between the bed and bookshelf. Notice it's also where new puppy sleeps. It's also the place where things get thrown when I don't know what else to do with them. So when I'm ready to roll out the mat, I have to move this stuff -and dog - out of the way first.

Since my mat is in the corner, it is nice to open the blinds and throw open the windows. It's not an ocean breeze but it feels good as I'm flowing my practice. And how nice to be able to turn my face to the sun during morning meditation.

Sometimes there are other people or dogs or too much stuff in the bedroom and I'll move out to the living room. Again, moving the rug out of the way, pushing the chair over and usually moving dogs again.

My favorite place to practice when the weather is nice is my backyard deck. The deck provides ample space,  the perfect mixture of sun and shade in the morning, a nice breeze and even birds chirping. Often on a Sunday morning I'm flowing through vinyasas while one of the kids is on the swings and one of the dogs is chasing birds.

The deck is also big enough that I can invite my yoga friends over to enjoy the space too. Last summer when our regular yoga place got flooded, class continued on the deck every Wednesday morning. We slathered on the sun screen, let the kids run around the backyard and we got our yoga on.

Now that I have the deck to myself again, sometimes it feels a little lonely. But I still enjoy the quiet, the breeze, the sun and the space to roll out my mat. And there is plenty of room for the dogs too!




5 comments:

  1. Lovely.. My home yoga space is wherever I can find a clean part of the floor without Legos and kid stuff. I love the deck!

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  2. I love the picture where everyone has their legs up, except for the lady in yellow, who looks like you've killed her. Awesome.

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  3. Ok, so now I'm inspired to work on my home practice! I have a space in the office part of my kitchen that I have used once or twice..it's actually quite lovely..just plain sloth does get in the way though..

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  4. I love the idea of practicing in the backyard! I think I shall do the same when the weather warms up =)

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  5. My practice space is in the middle of the living room, so I have to either practice at the crack of dawn or late in the evening after the hubs & the pup are asleep. it's funny what we have to move to get it in, but its always worth it!

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