Why online yoga?

Talking with friends and colleagues over the years has made me realise that online yoga has its place not as the next-best thing to being in a studio, but because removing the journey can create that extra room for yoga practice.

After a busy day or week, gathering all your stuff together, driving to wherever you need to go, searching for a parking spot and the same in reverse afterwards can create more clutter in our minds. For some people, practising yoga at home isn't second-best — it's where yoga can become possible.

The distractions won't disappear simply because you roll out a mat. Perhaps that's part of the practice too — noticing what is asking for your attention and choosing for a little while not to follow it. The washing can wait. So can the phone.

Less distance between life and practice

Like learning a musical instrument or a foreign language, regular practice makes arriving more familiar. The body begins to recognise the invitation. The mind doesn't need quite so long to catch up.

At home, or even in your workspace, you may feel less self-conscious because you're already in familiar surroundings — no settling in required. You can allow yourself to let go a little more easily. And there can be something quietly valuable about practising in the same room where everyday life happens. Yoga doesn't belong only to the mat. Perhaps practising there makes it a little easier for some of the practice to remain when the mat is put away.

If your practice finishes with Savasana, you can stay with the quiet for a little longer. There's no need to gather your things, step outside and immediately negotiate traffic or the journey home. You might make a cup of tea or simply stay where you are. The choice is yours to make.

And sometimes the difference is very practical. Thirty minutes of yoga at home can fit into a day that couldn't accommodate ninety minutes once travel is included.

Perhaps making space for practice doesn't always mean finding more time. Sometimes it means removing what stands between you and beginning.

Not sure where to start, how to start or which type of yoga?

Beginning doesn't have to mean making a big commitment. You might not know whether Hatha, Yin, Desk or Chair Yoga is right for you. You might be returning after a long time away. Or perhaps an hour simply feels like too much to make room for just now. That's one of the reasons I created the 30-minute format of First Flow.

For those who want to practise more regularly while keeping that same 30-minute space, Breathing Space offers eight classes each month, with the flexibility to move between Desk, Hatha and Yin practices. Join live when you can or use the recordings to make space at another time.