This is an old post from my previous blog, but I thought I would repost it here since I genuinely feel much better when I am practicing yoga regularly and am still a huge fan of the Down Dog app. – Becky
I’ve dappled with practicing yoga at home on and off for about 5 years now. And by “on and off” I mean “mostly off”. I can admit that. Regardless, every time I get into it, it’s the same…
This is great! I feel so relaxed! I’m not compulsively biting my nails or squeezing my blackheads! What is this feeling of balance and calm?! I love it and I never want it to go away!
And then I inevitably fall off the wagon and go back to being my anxiety ridden, bad habit practicing, nut ball self.
Part of the reason for this, is that it has been really hard to find a yoga app/video series/YouTube channel that I like. A membership to a yoga studio just isn’t in my budget, and with any fitness app I’ve tried, I eventually stop because it gets boring doing exactly the same thing every day. I don’t want to know what my next 8 moves are going to be; I want to be challenged.
Finding the right app
About 2 months ago I decided that I really wanted to practice yoga at home and incorporate it into my daily routine. For good this time. I fired up the old App Store on my phone and started searching. Pretty quickly, I came across an app called Down Dog. I don’t know who made it, but they are a freaking genius. In the app you can select the type of practice you want (full, quick flow, restorative), your level of expertise (beginner 1’s holla at me), and how many minutes you want to practice, and it will produce a randomized sequence for you, complete with warm up and cool down. The best part is that it’s free. FREE! There are a few additional settings you can tweak with the paid version (style of music, focusing on a particular area, etc), which is $50 a year. Not bad, not bad at all.
Invest in a good mat
I started out with a mat that I found at Marshall’s quite a few years ago. But as I kept at it, I realized that it just wasn’t cutting it. It wrinkled too easily and didn’t feel great on my knees, so I decided to invest in a new one. I wasn’t totally convinced that there was such a thing as a superior yoga mat, but I went for it and invested in a plain black one from Lululemon.
I have to admit, it’s a damn nice mat. It’s surprisingly heavy, so it doesn’t lift up and wrinkle when I’m changing positions, and it doesn’t hurt my knees. Mission accomplished.
As of now, I’ve been practicing yoga at home almost every morning for about 2 months, and I feel great. And now that I have my trusty mat and app, there’s no reason for me to ever stop.
Mom says
Thanks Hunbun, I’m going to try it. I’ve been wanting to add yoga to my days, I really need to stretch after my weight workouts. Love you, Mom