Enjoy Yoga at Home for Summer Serenity
Create a beautiful space for yoga, meditation – or just to bring breathing room into your life
Catherine Smith
17 October 2016
Houzz New Zealand Contributor. A design addict from way back, I can't resist looking at other people's houses. And doing a tiny bit of styling and decluttering. Just a tiny bit.
Houzz New Zealand Contributor. A design addict from way back, I can't resist looking... More
The ancient Indian practice of yoga may have been around for 5,000 years, but in the past decade or so it has become mainstream. The International Yoga Federation estimates some 300 million people worldwide now practise one of the 50 forms of yoga, with tides of celebrities showing off their yoga bodies and a $27 billion international industry of festivals, classes, clothes, mats and other accessories.
The Yoga Alliance, the world’s largest association for the teaching of yoga, has more than 67,700 teachers and 4,300 yoga schools registered with it. No longer the domain of scruffy community halls, yoga studios are now purpose-built and gorgeous, but they’re not always necessary when practising at home. If you just want to step away from the hype and find the joy and peace of yoga, here’s how to find your personal bliss whenever you need to.
The Yoga Alliance, the world’s largest association for the teaching of yoga, has more than 67,700 teachers and 4,300 yoga schools registered with it. No longer the domain of scruffy community halls, yoga studios are now purpose-built and gorgeous, but they’re not always necessary when practising at home. If you just want to step away from the hype and find the joy and peace of yoga, here’s how to find your personal bliss whenever you need to.
Roll out a mat, anywhere
Yes, a serene, dedicated space is lovely. But all you need for mindful yoga is a flat, dry place to roll out a mat. A sheltered garden is perfect for summer mornings: look for a spot that is away from the ‘gotta get going’ distractions so you can focus.
Yes, a serene, dedicated space is lovely. But all you need for mindful yoga is a flat, dry place to roll out a mat. A sheltered garden is perfect for summer mornings: look for a spot that is away from the ‘gotta get going’ distractions so you can focus.
Say hello to sunshine
What better way to set bright intentions for the day, than by starting it by facing the rising sun? If you practise later than sunrise, find a spot that has some shade so you don’t burn as you hold your asanas.
What better way to set bright intentions for the day, than by starting it by facing the rising sun? If you practise later than sunrise, find a spot that has some shade so you don’t burn as you hold your asanas.
Keep it covered
A gentle summer rain may feel good for a few moments, but it can chill your body quickly. And a slippery mat is downright dangerous. The compromise? A sheltered porch, or something more like this New York meditation studio. Generous skylights flood the room with energy-giving sunlight, while a living green wall replenishes oxygen.
A gentle summer rain may feel good for a few moments, but it can chill your body quickly. And a slippery mat is downright dangerous. The compromise? A sheltered porch, or something more like this New York meditation studio. Generous skylights flood the room with energy-giving sunlight, while a living green wall replenishes oxygen.
Gain some patio peace
Clear a corner of a deck for your morning or evening practise. Slatted walls provide privacy from neighbours, and some shade, while the white noise from a bubbling water feature blocks out the sounds of the city.
See more perfect pergolas
Clear a corner of a deck for your morning or evening practise. Slatted walls provide privacy from neighbours, and some shade, while the white noise from a bubbling water feature blocks out the sounds of the city.
See more perfect pergolas
Enjoy a cabin of your own
Take the deck one level further to turn it into your own outdoor yoga studio. Add a pretty roof – here a shingled take on a Japanese teahouse – or try ready-made thatch, with eucalyptus branches or bamboo. You can buy kit gazebos to assemble easily.
Tip: Let your gazebo do double duty as a summer glamping site in your own backyard. Enchanting.
Take the deck one level further to turn it into your own outdoor yoga studio. Add a pretty roof – here a shingled take on a Japanese teahouse – or try ready-made thatch, with eucalyptus branches or bamboo. You can buy kit gazebos to assemble easily.
Tip: Let your gazebo do double duty as a summer glamping site in your own backyard. Enchanting.
Make the journey to your space part of setting your intentions: a gentle walk across stepping stones gives you time to express gratitude for nature and clean air.
Find your inner purpose
Clear, white space and some greenery to purify the air are the favourites for True Food and Yoga founder Kelly Watt. She suggests setting up a modern-day altar or shrine with loved trinkets and pictures of people who matter to help bring joy to your practise space.
How to create your own spiritual retreat at home
Clear, white space and some greenery to purify the air are the favourites for True Food and Yoga founder Kelly Watt. She suggests setting up a modern-day altar or shrine with loved trinkets and pictures of people who matter to help bring joy to your practise space.
How to create your own spiritual retreat at home
Bathe in gentle light
Candles help create a quiet and reflective mood. Use natural beeswax to add gorgeous scent, or, if you are worried about fire, battery-operated candles supply gentle light too. Watt likes to burn essential oils, choosing a formulation to help promote calm or to energise.
Vicky Cullinane, whose contemporary hot yoga Studio Red is design-led, says it is important that lighting is indirect: you don’t want to be staring a bright bulb during poses.
Candles help create a quiet and reflective mood. Use natural beeswax to add gorgeous scent, or, if you are worried about fire, battery-operated candles supply gentle light too. Watt likes to burn essential oils, choosing a formulation to help promote calm or to energise.
Vicky Cullinane, whose contemporary hot yoga Studio Red is design-led, says it is important that lighting is indirect: you don’t want to be staring a bright bulb during poses.
If you practise in the middle of the day, sunlight can feel harsh. Pull-down blinds or sheer linen curtains help soften the light, and they waft gently in the breeze to create a serene atmosphere.
Get floored
Like dance studios, many yoga studios have wooden floors for beauty and practicality. Cullinane advises also looking for modern materials that are soft (like those used for martial arts) and that wick out the moisture as they are used. Floor surfaces that can be washed so bacteria and grime don’t build up are essential.
Browse more home gyms
Like dance studios, many yoga studios have wooden floors for beauty and practicality. Cullinane advises also looking for modern materials that are soft (like those used for martial arts) and that wick out the moisture as they are used. Floor surfaces that can be washed so bacteria and grime don’t build up are essential.
Browse more home gyms
Some people like to exercise on carpet, with a pile that has some grip. However, select a fibre and weave that does not become slippery with use, and which you can take outside to clean and air out from time to time.
Make it multi-purpose
When having a dedicated place to practise yoga is nothing but a dream, modify a space to do dual duty. Here, when guests arrive, a calm attic studio becomes a serene spot for sleeping on a futon bed.
When having a dedicated place to practise yoga is nothing but a dream, modify a space to do dual duty. Here, when guests arrive, a calm attic studio becomes a serene spot for sleeping on a futon bed.
Or when you roll up your mat, throw down a cool hide rug and some cushions to create a hang-out space for the rest of the day. Let a basket and ladder discreetly store workout towels, blocks and straps, and keep the space from looking like a gym.
Here, the homeowner has fitted a yoga spot in the corner of the basement family room. Flexible furniture such as chairs and ottomans can be carried in when there’s a crowd, while on quiet days the space is dedicated to their practise.
Get in the swing of it
Watt suggests adding a yoga swing to your space, if possible. The adult equivalent of a baby-swing or sling can be hung from sturdy hooks in a doorway or off walls and used to help inversions, or develop strength (or to gently rest and swing).
There are many proprietary swings available, from simple hammocks to more elaborate trapeze structures. You might need to experiment to find the ones with the right width and length to support your body, and of course always make sure that the sling and fixings can safely support your hanging weight and body in motion.
In summer, Watt favours something simple that she can hook over a strong tree-branch in her backyard. Make sure the surface below is soft grass or sand, not hard wood or concrete.
Watt suggests adding a yoga swing to your space, if possible. The adult equivalent of a baby-swing or sling can be hung from sturdy hooks in a doorway or off walls and used to help inversions, or develop strength (or to gently rest and swing).
There are many proprietary swings available, from simple hammocks to more elaborate trapeze structures. You might need to experiment to find the ones with the right width and length to support your body, and of course always make sure that the sling and fixings can safely support your hanging weight and body in motion.
In summer, Watt favours something simple that she can hook over a strong tree-branch in her backyard. Make sure the surface below is soft grass or sand, not hard wood or concrete.
Create a cultural crossover
Although yoga originated in
India, Japan is now the fastest-growing yoga centre in the world. An appealing studio aesthetic that brings a Zen-like sensibility to meditative spaces works beautifully as a quiet sitting room for the rest of the day.
Although yoga originated in
India, Japan is now the fastest-growing yoga centre in the world. An appealing studio aesthetic that brings a Zen-like sensibility to meditative spaces works beautifully as a quiet sitting room for the rest of the day.
A yoga pavilion overlooking a Japanese-style garden is also a contemplative place to finish your meditation.
TELL US
Are you planning to practise yoga this summer? Where? Share your dreams in the Comments below.
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Read more lifestyle stories
Are you planning to practise yoga this summer? Where? Share your dreams in the Comments below.
MORE
Read more lifestyle stories
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My yoga mat goes on a covered outside deck where I can hear the ocean and the birds - push back a couple of chairs, unroll the mat and salute the sun with a few downward dogs!
oh wow I love all of these. I practice yoga in the one metre by about 2.5 metre space next to my bed so I don't wake up my little boys. But we're starting to renovate our house and I'd love to do one of those loft spaced in our super high roof line if we can afford it!