Back in 2000 I quit my full-time job to return full-time to my acting career. It was an exciting time.  Of course, with that change came a dip in income and therefore some necessary trimmings to my budget. One of the things I needed to cut was my weekly yoga class. While that was disappointing, I was excited to create my own home practice. I had been practicing asana for several years and had a working knowledge of the poses, how to do them skillfully, and how to sequence them. So, I got a yoga mat as a gift, as well as a subscription to Yoga Journal and a few books on yoga.  I was set! 

Over the next few years my home yoga practice flourished. It went from a few poses that I remembered in class to exploring poses I was intrigued by in Yoga Journal to moving in a way that felt intuitively right to me. I even created my very own pre-audition practice to help warm up my body and voice, and to center, ground and calm me.  It was so empowering to trust in myself and to tap into the creative aspect of the practice.  Now I should be clear - there were definitely things I didn’t do in my home practice.  For me, poses like headstand and handstand were ones I practiced only when I was in class with a teacher guiding me.  And honestly, I didn’t include chanting and meditation.  It was mostly a movement and breath centered practice guided loosely by basic teachings of non-harming (ahimsa) and listening to myself, a form of self-study (svadhyaya), and that felt like enough.

My home practice was really for me – a chance to connect with my body, my breath, my heart – a time to be with myself in a non-judgmental, curious and creative way. And, it’s what ultimately inspired me to want to learn more and become a teacher of yoga and what encourages me to keep wanting to learn more so that I can better serve my students.

I have some questions for you.  Please email your answers!

1. Do you practice yoga at home (asana, breathing, meditation)?
2. Do you want to develop or deepen your home practice?
3. What questions do you have about  creating or deepening your home practice?  Just ask me. As you can see, I love talking all things yoga!

Here’s a little something to get you started.

• What’s your favorite yoga pose?
• Take a moment and do it or a modified version of it right now.
• How do you feel?
• Commit to doing it every day for 1 week!

You’ve got to start somewhere, so why not start with a pose you love?

PS – don’t forget to email me with the answers to the questions above - I really want to hear what you are up to!