Yoga at Home, Yoga for Everyone – The Complete Routines for Beginners

Yoga at home should not be taken for granted as an easy workout because yoga can do a lot of things in our health. To be fit and ready, your physical, emotional, and mental health should be prepared all the time. Caught in the middle of a pandemic crisis is not a joke.

Yoga at home has no difference in doing a workout at home. Well, yoga, technically, is a form of exercise, but it doesn’t require lifting of equipment. Yoga is all about your body – how you move, think, and the combination of it.

Entering a yoga world can be daunting. In my case, I cannot decide whether to make yoga at home a big deal. There are many forms of yoga, and I tried each one of them to determine what will be my yoga at-home routine.

You see, I am new to this thing. I heard and watched some videos about yoga. Well, I knew little about breathing exercises for yoga. But doing yoga is not that simple as it seems. There are plenty of gyms and studios for yoga exercises. But this time, it will be different because these places are close due to the pandemic, so my starting point is doing yoga at home. Online videos for tutorials are my backbones in yoga. If I have some questions, I asked my friend of mine, who is a yoga instructor. Well, lucky for me.

My friend, Yula, has been in yoga exercises for a very long time. She knows the dos and don’ts in doing yoga. As now that most workouts are being performed at home, Yula prepared some yoga routines to be done at home.

Essential Yoga at Home Routines

Hatha

One of the yoga at home you can start with is Hatha. Hatha yoga uses a combination of body posture (asanas), breathing (pranayama), and meditation (Dyana). These three postures aim to invigorate both your mind and body. 

Since this is the start of every yoga routine, it is known popularly for the slower-paced practice. The focus of this yoga at home is breathing and basic poses. That is why, properly doing this routine will make the next yoga easier to perform.

Vinyasa

After making yourself familiar with yoga body postures, breathing, and meditation, you will have to face the vinyasa. The vinyasa is called flow yoga because of understanding the fluid transitions between poses. So the critical thing in this routine is the breathing to synchronize with the movement.

Bikram

No sauna? Well, this yoga practice should not bother you if you are doing it at home. Bikram can be considered as yoga at home as long as you perform it in a place like a sauna. 

Traditionally, a Bikram is performed in a sauna-like room with at least 40 degrees Celsius and 40% humidity. The heat allows us to dig deep into the stretches while doing yoga. Each movement in this yoga builds stamina and flush toxins from the body through intense perspiration. 

If you are a pregnant woman who loves to do yoga at home, avoid this one. Also, those with heart problems, Bikram is not your thing.

Yin

Familiar with the word yin? For yoga, this is a routine that needs excellent meditation. The posture on this yoga is mostly passive, which targets the connective tissues in the body. If you want to work out your hips, pelvis, and lower spine, yin yoga should be your ally. It is a slow pacing yoga because each movement is held for 20 minutes. So, patience is the key.

When you have a troubled mind, yin yoga is ideal for you to release the tension and relax your joints.

Iyengar

A form of Hatha yoga that focuses on ideal alignment. You will need to use blocks, straps, harnesses, chairs, and boards as props. The principle of Iyengar is linking asanas together. Without it, your Hatha yoga has no alignment, and for a beginner, basic postures will be hard to achieve.

Jock

Yoga at home, which focuses on strength and endurance rather than flexibility, is called a jock yoga. The routine in this yoga uses movements and strengthening postures. It is more enticing if you will perform it with contemporary music, which can work on stiff muscles. 

If I am asked, I prefer this yoga to make my stiff muscles to increase flexibility and improve muscle strength.

Restorative

Are you thinking of relaxation while doing yoga at home? Well, basically doing yoga is about relaxation, and the therapeutic routines will give your body a healing effect in mind and body. Remember that each yoga needs patience, and if you successfully incorporate restorative yoga in your routine, it will increase recovery from illness and injury. 

Ashtanga

Are you doing a vinyasa style with six poses? This yoga is called an ashtanga. The movement sequence is sequentially at a rapid pace and synchronized with the breath.  

For beginners, ashtanga should be started with a slower-paced transition so the body can be familiarized with the basics and the exact style of this yoga. This yoga is best when having sleepless nights.

Prenatal

Yes, you read it right. Prenatal yoga is ideal for both expectant mothers and those who are due to labor. Correctly stretching and breathing will help the whole pregnancy months. 

An expectant mother should do this to make the labor more natural and faster. If the yoga starts later, it will create faint, sickness, and dizziness. 

Jivamukti

“Liberation while living” – this is the meaning of Jivamukti. A vinyasa style practice that is physically and intellectually intense, with themed classes. Chanting, music, and scripture readings are included, which means more physical workout.

Sharing My Thoughts

When I started doing yoga, it changed a lot in my body. But later on, with the discipline and following proper yoga routines, the benefits of yoga at home exercise my muscles and joints. It improves my breathing and movement after the lar practice of yoga.