Want to develop a yoga practice at home? Don’t be put off by thinking that you need a lot of expensive yoga equipment. That’s not necessary. You already have everything that you need. Put together a few items, and you’re ready.

You can practice in the early morning, or if you’re too busy, claim 20 minutes for your practice when you come home, or before bed.

Let’s look at what you need.

1. A Yoga Mat: Useful, but Not Essential

A yoga mat is useful, but it’s not essential.

If you have carpeted floors, just put down a towel, and use that for your practice.

If you have wooden floors, you can use a small rug, or a folded blanket for sitting and prone poses. For standing poses, the floor is fine — but ensure you have bare feet: socks can cause your feet to slip.

Eventually, you can invest in an eco-friendly yoga mat. Be wary of buying mats which contain polyurethane — they can give off fumes.

2. Yoga Blocks to Help You to Achieve Poses

If you’re new to yoga, you’ll need yoga blocks to help you to become more comfortable in some poses. Although you can buy wooden or foam rubber blocks, you can find household items to use.

For example, you can use cushions, or even books to use instead of blocks. Just have a look around your home to find objects which are the right size.

3. A Blanket for Meditation: Stay Warm

There’s no need to buy a special yoga blanket, any small blanket can be substituted.

4. Yoga Clothes: Choose Items from Your Wardrobe

Yoga clothes are very useful because they’re tight-fitting without being constricting. This enables you to get into yoga poses without your clothes getting in the way.

However, you can find items from your own wardrobe which you can wear during your practice. Leggings and a pair of shorts, and a T-shirt, make a simple but effective yoga outfit.

Want to develop your own home yoga practice? If you don’t have time to attend classes, a home yoga practice is the perfect solution — Yoga Tutor has everything you need.

Pranayama, yoga breathing exercises, are a great way to center yourself, and to enhance your health.

It’s a good idea to learn pranayama from a yoga instructor. Over-breathing, or breathing incorrectly during the exercises can cause dizziness and headaches.

This video is a good introduction to pranayama.

Want to feel great? You can enhance your yoga practice with healing foods from the traditional Indian Ayurveda system of medicine. Ayurveda encourages balance: you’ll feel lighter, more energetic, and minor health problems will tend to fade away.

One point before we discuss Ayurvedic foods: if you have a health condition, see your doctor.

Let’s look at some traditional foods recommended for anyone who’s started a yoga practice.

1. Eat Seasonally, So That Your Food Is Filled With Pranic Energy

Eating fresh food, and fruits and vegetables which are in season is a basic tenet of eating the yogic way. Look for green, leafy vegetables such as spinach, arugula, and kale, they enhance the functioning of your liver, and help to eliminate toxins.

2. Turmeric: Attracting Attention As a Weight Loss Aid

The spice turmeric is being studied for its weight loss benefits, as well as for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

3. Mung Beans: Healthy and Healing

You may be familiar with tiny green mung beans, they’re often used for sprouting. However, they’re also delicious when cooked: packed with protein, they’re said to prevent cancer and heart disease. Add some mung beans to stews and soups.

You can also cook a delicious hot and spicy mung bean soup in just half an hour — look online for recipes.

4. Lemons Boost Your Metabolism and Eliminate Toxins

Not only are lemons packed with vitamin C, they’re also a tonic and cleanser — they remove toxins from your system. Try starting the day with the juice of half a lemon in hot water, with an added teaspoon of honey.

5. Ginger: for Healthy Digestion, and to Reduce Inflammation

If you have a condition which causes inflammation, such as arthritis, make friends with fresh ginger. Not only does ginger taste delicious when cooked in soups and stews (you can’t taste the ginger, it just enhances the flavor), you can also make a fresh ginger tea.

To make ginger tea: slice up fresh ginger in sufficient quantity to make a teaspoon per cup. Pour boiling water over the ginger, and allow to steep for five minutes. Add a teaspoon of honey before serving.

Enrich your life with yoga today

Read Yoga for the New You and discover everything you need to create a yoga practice right in your own home. Transform your life with yoga.

[tags]yoga, foods, healing, heath, fitness, Ayurveda[/tags]