I love learning from books because you can read up on techniques, philosophy, and learn sequencing in your own timing.

My favorite books:

Yoga: A Gem For Women by Geeta S. Iyengar

This is my favorite yoga book! It’s very therapeutic for women and is appropriate for students of all levels. Like her father B.K.S. Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar is very thorough in her explanation of yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breath work), and meditation. I recommend this book to ALL women yoga practitioners.

The Women’s Book of Yoga & Health by Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden

Sparrowe and Walden offer modern health advice in addition to simple yoga asana sequences (particularly Restorative yoga). This book is wonderful for women of all ages and abilities.

The Heart of Yoga T.K.V. Desikachar

For an in-depth understanding of Yoga, this is the book to turn to. It’s heavy in philosophy (there’s even a translation of the Yoga Sutra in the back!), but Desikachar explains it in a way that is easy to comprehend, modern, and practical. The asana sequences are very basic and therapeutic. The style is ViniYoga, which is gentle movement linked with conscious breathing.

Ashtanga Yoga by David Swenson

Ashtanga Yoga is known for being the most challenging style of Hatha yoga. Though athletic types are attracted to the strong asanas, it’s actually a very deep, ritualistic practice, which is why I’m so drawn to it. David Swenson has a great sense of humor and is very down-to-earth. Even though he presents the whole Primary & Secondary series in his book, he also offers shorter sequences for practitioners to follow. He encourages students to listen to their bodies and to back off whenever necessary.

Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers

Sarah Powers is the teacher who has influenced me the most. I learned how to teach Yin Yoga from her and Paul Grilley, I attended many transformational silent retreats with her, and it was actually she who inspired me to get my Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. She moved to the East Coast a few years ago, but luckily I can use her book Insight Yoga.  This book introduces one to Yin Yoga, Meridian Theory, Yang Yoga, and offers several practice sessions to choose from.

2. Online Yoga Classes & Magazines

Yoga Glo

For $18/month (less than the price of one studio class!) YogaGlo gives you unlimited access to classes from some of the best teachers. You can choose your level, body area focus, length of class, style of class, and the teacher you vibe with the best.

My favorite YogaGlo teachers:

• my friend Giselle Mari
• Stephanie Snyder
• Richard Freeman
• Rod Stryker
• Elena Brower
• Chelsey Korus

Yoga International

For more online classes, check out Yoga International. Their membership fee is $14.99 and you can start with a free 30 day trial. There’s less selection of classes and teachers than YogaGlo, but all of their teachers are highly recognized experts in the yoga community.

Yoga International is also a magazine. With membership, you’ll receive access to articles not only about proper asana alignment and sequencing, but also more information about the philosophy of yoga.

Yoga Journal

Yoga Journal is the oldest and still the most popular magazine available. You can even find issues at your local library if you want to check a few out without purchasing from a store.

Unlike Yoga International, there is not membership fee required to view Yoga Journal articles online. They have videos too, as well as yoga playlists and other modern features.

For those new to the practice, check out the Yoga 101 section for foundational alignment advice, information on different yoga styles, popular Sanskrit (the language of yoga) terms, and more.

3. Important yoga props

Yoga props can help students practice yoga more safely.  If you’re not practicing yoga mindfully, it is easy to push yourself too far and hurt yourself. This is not a problem for beginner students only – yoga injuries are very common and on the rise. Students of all levels can use props to deepen into postures appropriately.

There are many brands of yoga props out there. For good health & longevity, look for props made of safe, sustainable, high quality materials.

Types of Yoga props:

• Mats – Sticky mats help to keep you from sliding in postures where hands and feet are spread out. I actually prefer to use a practice rug instead which requires me to recruit deeper muscles for stability. The Jade Harmony yoga mat is one of my favorites.

• Blocks – Blocks can be used many different ways and are essential for any practitioner. They can be something to elevate the body on (in seated postures), to act as something to rest on (like a restorative bridge pose with a block under the sacrum), to make certain postures more accessible (like placing your hand down to a block in side angle pose if tight hips are preventing your hand from reaching all the way to the floor), or to create stability (like having one in between your hands with forearm balance). I recommend these blocks by Jade because of their durability and Jade’s commitment to sustainability.

• Blankets – Blankets are used to cushion sensitive areas like knees against hard surfaces, but also serve as boosters. For example, in shoulderstand a blanket under the upper back elevates your torso so that the neck is not compressed. In seated postures, having your sit bones on the edge of a blanket allows your legs to relax down easier and opens your hips passively with gravity. These Mexican blankets work great!

• Straps – Straps offer stability and also make certain postures more accessible. Staps like this one with metal rings are easy to use.

• Bolsters – Bolsters provide a soft surface to rest against, elevated from the floor. They are commonly used in restorative yoga practices. Try this organic cotton one from Lotuscrafts.

4. Tools to enhance your yoga practice

These tools are nice to have as your home practice deepens. You’ll be spending more time investigating your habits, emotions, and intentions, and these items can help you process them.

I frequently use these in my daily home yoga practice:

• Essential oils
• A Yoga & Meditation Journal
• Mala/prayer beads
• Positive affirmations

I hope these resources help you feel more secure and interested in starting your own home yoga practice!  You can read this article about the importance of a home yoga practice if you need even more motivation before beginning.

Practicing yoga in a group setting definitely has it’s benefits:

• You’re likely to connect with like-minded people in yoga classes
• Attending studio events is a great way to build community.
• It’s also important to seek out a teacher that you resonate with, who is also accessible to you and the community.
• Working with a teacher who gives you feedback and who points out unhelpful habits or imbalances is invaluable.
• The energy of group classes can make practicing yoga fun & motivating.

Group classes are wonderful for so many reasons! Yet, they may not be enough to fulfill you.

Here’s 10 reasons why I prefer practicing yoga at home and why I encourage all my students to develop a home practice too.

10 Reasons Why You Should Do A Home Yoga Practice

1. It’s easier to be mindful

Mindfulness is the essence of yoga. It’s an inner process of observation and reflection; a state of being that is more difficult to connect with if there are outside distractions (that inevitably exist in group classes). At home, you have more control over the environment. It’s just you and your thoughts that you have to work with, which is challenging enough!

2. You can practice whatever you want, in your own timing

The pace of group classes is unique to the teacher’s style. Practicing at home, you can choose to stay less time, or longer if you’re like me and enjoy sinking into the experience each asana has to offer.

You can also spend more time in postures that will correct imbalances and do less of the ones that create them.

(For example, with my body, I’m stronger in my upper body to the point where I accumulate too much tension while my lower body is not as strong. I need to ground my energy too, so I’ve been doing sessions mainly of standing and seated postures with just headstand and shoulderstand as my upper-body-focused postures. Then I rest and meditate. I’m feeling much more balanced! It would be much harder to achieve this in a led class.)

3. There’s no self-consciousness or competition

It’s very challenging to practice in a group class without noticing what others are doing. Our minds habitually like to compare ourselves to others. While it’s good to notice and work with these habits, again, it’s just one more distraction. Practicing alone allows you to experience yoga without feeling superior or inferior to anyone.

4. You can create more time to relax deeply

Do you need to insert some restorative postures or extend your final rest in Savasana? You could do them in a group class too, but many people get too caught up with what everyone else is doing and fail to listen to cues from their bodies that are asking for more rest. You’re more likely to honor your body in a home practice.

5. You’ll develop greater discipline and commitment

No doubt, for most people it takes more discipline to adopt a home practice than to attend a group class where people might be expecting you. Your commitment will grow once you see how valuable your personal practice is though. Then, there’s no excuse to not do it! You can take your practice with you on vacation and can alter it when you’re sick. It becomes part of your daily health habits, just like brushing your teeth.

6. You’re likely to progress quicker

As I already mentioned, individualized attention means that you can focus on what you need and how much of it. Therefore, you’re going to see yourself progress much quicker, especially if you’re doing a personal practice everyday.

7. You can make your own schedule

To commit to a home practice, it’s nice to do it at a certain time of the day so you’re less likely to blow it off. I try to do mine early in the morning while my son is still asleep. It feels good to have exercised my body a little and have a bank of mindfulness to pull from for the rest of the day.

8. You’ll model self-care for your children

I know, it’s hard to carve out time to practice when you have young children in the home. Like me, you may prefer to do it early in the morning while they’re sleeping. But, I also enjoy doing a restorative practice at night as well, with my son near by.

It’s very important for kids to see you practicing yoga. You can establish boundaries with them so they learn to respect your time and space. They will see the importance you’re placing on self-care and will teach them a lot about how to care for themselves deeply as well.

9. You can meet & respect your inner teacher

Teachers can help you see certain aspects of yourself that are not apparent, but it always comes back to awareness, opening your mind, and accepting all that you are in order to meet your true self.

With a home practice, you’ll learn to look inside for guidance and trust what comes up. You start looking to yourself for answers instead of assuming that you need permission from others or that others have more wisdom than you. This is absolutely not true! No one knows you as you (can potentially) know yourself. This is precisely why I recommend that my own students have their own practice.

I love this quote from Rolf Sovik in his article Recognizing the Guru:

When students lean too heavily on the compassion of the teacher, another aspect of the guru’s nature is revealed. Teachers nurture the disciplines of practice. If our dependency becomes too strong, a teacher will often awaken our practice by stepping back. The Buddha put it very simply when he said, “Light thine own lamp.”

10. You’re more likely to experience Yoga

There are many definitions of Yoga.

It’s the…

…cessation of the fluctuations of the mind (Yoga Sutra)

…yoking or joining together of the many aspects of the Self

…ability to evolve spiritually from where we are now

All are possible, but only when we can commit to being alone with ourselves every day. A home yoga practice is how you can develop this degree of self-love.