Making the Most of a Virtual Yoga Practice from Home

Even though going out to your favourite yoga studio space is the ideal, when virtual practice is all that you can access, how can you keep your practice going and make the most of it?

The most common objections we get to maintaining a virtual practice are:

• I don’t have the space in my house

• I can’t make the class time with everything else going on at home

• I don’t have the props that I need

• It’s not the same

To the third point, you’re right … it’s not the same. But there are so many benefits to an at-home practice that are worth the creativity it takes to make it happen. 

If you think you don’t have the space or time …

Remember when you’d come to yoga classes packed mat to mat and couldn’t reach your arms out to the side without touching your neighbour? Those days are long gone now but they are proof that you really only need enough space for the 4 edges of your mat to practice. And at home, even if that’s all you have the space for … you’re still not going to have to worry about touching anyone! 

If what you actually don’t have is a clear, quiet space to practice, here are a couple of ways to get around that:

• A yoga practice is meant for going inward, drawing focus AWAY from what’s around us and TOWARDS our body and breath. Even if you’re in a cluttered room, can you let yourself imagine you’re on mat island with the only thing that matters being YOU, on that island, for 60 minutes or less? 

• Even if you have barking dogs, kids and a partner on the other side of the door, can you set a healthy boundary for yourself with them and say this is my time? When the door is closed, can you ask for them to respect your space? Can you let them know how important this is to you and that you’ll be there for them again when you open the door? How would taking this time for YOU make you better able to be who you need to be for them? 

• It is a-okay to tune the outside world out when you’re tuning into your practice. Consider this your permission slip ;)

If you think you can’t make the class time work …

Now that we’re offering virtual on-demand, you aren’t confined to a set class schedule. You can take the classes you want with the teachers you love when they work best for you. 

If you think you don’t have the props you need …

Being at home actually makes it EASIER to practice with props. You don’t need an ‘official’ strap, block or bolster … just some creativity :)

That being said, if you DO want to have a proper set of props, we carry blocks, bolsters, straps and mats at The Aura Store that you can rent.

• $1/prop per class OR

• $10/month for unlimited prop rental

We know it’s not the same …

… it’s also all we’ve got right now. You know that feeling of having momentum, losing it, and then how hard it is to get it back? That’s a feeling we don’t actually have to subject ourselves to if we can find it within us to open our minds and keep going. 

So come as you are, with what you have. We’ll be here to cheer you on ;) 

If you’re looking to get your momentum going we have a few different options to stay connected with us virtually!

1) Trinity Class Pass

This pass gives you access to 3 live classes that you’ll have 3 months to use. If you use all 3 in one month, you’ll get a 4th class for free 🤗 it’s our way of rewarding you for committing to your practice! If we’re lucky enough to be back in studio by February, these passes can also be used in-studio :) 

The Trinity Class Pass is $63 (Tax Incl.)

2) 1 month of Virtual On-Demand (no longer available)

Virtual on-demand gives you the opportunity to practice on your terms, when best works for you. This pass gives you access to our Private, On-Demand Library of classes for 1 month. After every live class, we upload the recording as a Private YouTube video and send you access via email*. Every class is available until the following week when we upload the new one :) 

*You do need to have a gmail account in order to access the videos via YouTube. If you do not have a gmail account, please let us know and we can smooth out this hiccup with you!

3) 1 month of Unlimited Virtual (no longer available)

If you still want the feeling of a live class alongside your Aura House community, the Unlimited Virtual Pass gives you access to all of our scheduled live classes in addition to the on-demand videos. Taking a live virtual class has the added benefit of being able to connect with your teachers and let them know if there are any accessibility considerations you need made for your practice. You still have the opportunity to ask questions and say hello to your studio friends, even though we have to spend this time physically apart.