Want to begin a home movement practice but don’t know where to start?

Here are my 5 easy tips and a short video practice to get you started today!

Hey friend! Let me help you make your home movement practice effective, accessible and meaningful with my five top easy tips to make your home movement practice a reality.

I have also included a short home practice sequence in the companion video that you can use at home to get your movement practice started today!

Your home movement practice does it need to be complicated. It doesn't need to be lengthy and you don't even have to do yoga poses. I encourage you to do any sort of movement that makes you and your body feel really good! So these five tips I have for you today are ones that inform my home movement practice, and I hope that you'll find them helpful too. 

Tip #1: Take a pause

When you first arrive on your mat, cushion or seat make sure you take a moment to take a pause and allow yourself to become still. The pause can be as simple as taking three conscious breaths in and out through the nose or you might enjoy a clearing breath or two out through the mouth. You want to take your time as you relax into these breaths to really allow your body, mind, and presence to arrive.

Tip #2: Try beginning your practice with the same pose every time

By coming into the same pose every time you begin your practice, it gives you a really good gauge as to how you're traveling physically, mentally and emotionally. Some days you'll come into the pose and it feels really easy and comfortable and then other days it might feel creaky and tight.  By coming into that same pose and really paying attention to how it feels, it gives you an accurate sense of how to modify your practice to accommodate you and your body in that moment.

One of my favourite teachers, Sarah Powers, suggests starting your practice in Butterfly pose.  Butterfly pose is a yin pose where the souls of the feet are together, knees are bent and out to the side. If you are in a chair, you can elevate the feet with a cushion or bolster.  You then gently take the body into a forward fold over the legs without force or strain.

Tip #3: Move your body in all directions

Your brain receives a lot of its nourishment and stimulation from moving the body and spine in all directions so we want our practice to be ‘well rounded’ and to move the body as evenly as possible. We want to ensure that we move all of the body and not just the same parts over and over. We want to move the body forwards, backwards, into twists, and side bends.  You also want to bring activity into the upper body, lower body, front body and back body to ensure we bring attention to all of the body.

Tip #4: Keep the movement slow

We want to find a really natural rhythm to our movement practice that will inform the way that we move off our mat and into our day.  Our body holds a natural wisdom and insight that can only be accessed when we get quiet and we move consciously and mindfully.  So as you move through your poses keep bringing your attention back into your body, into the moment and slow yourself down anytime you notice you fall back into your habits of moving quickly, forcefully or unconsciously. This tip would have to be one of the most important and probably one of the most difficult to practice consistently, so please be kind to yourself!

Tip #5: Give yourself time to pause for a moment or two at the end of the practice.

Once your movement practice is complete, give yourself the gift of pausing for a moment or two so that you can really feel the benefits of the movement and the body can integrate the practice. This pause is also another opportunity for you to strengthen your connection with an inner awareness that can hold, support and care for you as you manage all of the complexities of your day.

Short home movement practice sequence

The companion video to this has a short movement sequence incorporating all of the above tips to help you get started with your own home movement practice.  I would love you to try the sequence and let me know how you go!

If you would like weekly inspiration and support for your home practice then please come and join my Facebook group, ‘Find Your Calm: a home practice community’. I offer ideas, resources, videos and support regularly with a group of like-minded souls looking to bring a little more calm and clarity into their day.

For more inspiration for your practice at home, download my FREE ebook, Find Your Calm: Sharon’s favourite simple and sacred home practices

Take care my friend and with love.
Now go and get that home movement practice started :)

Sharon
xx