While I am sitting here mustering up the energy for my daily yoga practice, I thought I’d inspire myself with a little blogging about it.

I have had the hardest time getting my home yoga practice going. G and I got an apartment with a yoga/meditation/massage room (for G’s massage practice). I injured my arm earlier this year doing a bound triangle pose, and had to chill out on yoga for a while, but for the last month or so I’ve been getting back into in earnest. It has been hard getting there, but I think I finally figured out the routine that works for me.

Discovering free yoga podcasts last year was a life-changing occurence for me. With the whole work-life balance thing, home practice is the only thing that is really going to fit with my schedule, though I do intent to find a teacher someday soon. I recognise my need for guidance in-person. But the home practice just never came together for me. I always had such a hard time pushing myself to do a full practice on my own.

The various podcast sites that I have found have been an absolute boon, helping me give shape to my home practice. I especially love Philip Urso’s Baptiste Power Vinyasa podcasts, but they can be burly sometimes, (and they are really for people who’ve had some yoga classes). My arm is still painful sometimes, and some days I need a little something gentler.

Lately what has been working for me is a gentle morning practices with a podcast from Yoga Journal. It’s about a half hour, and designed for rolling out of bed and just waking up. Like most people, I need to move a little more slowly.

So, each morning, I have been doing a half hour practice before getting ready for work, and in the evenings when I have time and on the weekends, I indulge in a longer Baptiste practice with Phil Urso. With these two, I am finding a nice balance and am able to gently push myself into a deeper practice. The combination is helping me find patience with myself and enjoy the sweetness of heart-opening.

Okay, I think I’m ready now.