A beautiful thing about yoga is that it requires nothing of you but attention and intention. Even if you just have a chair you can sit in meditation. You can practice breathwork. You can practice physical yogic exercises (asana) on a chair. If you have more space than that, say a bit of open space and a sticky mat, then (given the physical ability to get up and down from the floor,) you can do all of these things on the floor, widening the possibilities for movement even more.
It's best to have a good teacher. Many local teachers (like me!) provide private and semi-private instruction and can get you started with the basics. Local yoga studios and some health clubs offer group classes for beginners at which you can glean some basics to use at home.
The personal touch is ideal, however, I started way back when by using a trusty book,
The Sivananda Companion to Yoga, which I still refer to at times and recommend
. (Now my library is overflowing with books on yoga, but this dog-eared copy is my first love.) Many folks get started using dvds. If you'd like to try the dvd route I suggest visiting a relatively large public library for a somewhat curated selection. It really comes down to how you like to learn, what you can and want to use in terms of time and money, and then from there, what resonates with you.
It's critical to know that there are many, many approaches to this ancient practice and a very broad range of teaching styles. Expertise of teaching varies as the plethora of yoga teacher training programs keep a steady flow of new teachers coming. I recommend seeking a teacher who has been teaching for a good long time, has a long standing committed personal practice, and is clear about the lineage from which their practice is derived.
Once you have selected how you'd like to learn, here is a mixed bag of tips to help you get a home practice going and keep it going:
* Schedule it. Actually put it in your calendar or at least in your mind like brushing your teeth or any other hygiene habit. If it doesn't happen, don't beat yourself up but remind yourself to love yourself, and how good for you this discipline is. And that it will always pay off. Then get on the horse again.
* Create the context. Get the kids occupied (or schedule it when they will not be around). Be able to easily make the space for the mat. Be ok with a less than ideal space.
* Be ok with interruptions.
* Have a simple routine. Maybe use the Ashtanga primary series or the first half of it. Or some Sun Salutations followed by a couple of your favorite postures. Or a sequence from a good book. Or a high-quality teacher's dvd.
* ...or not. Follow your intuition, follow your body's cues.
* Be open to changing your routine as your needs change.
* Wear asana-appropriate (ie. stretchy) clothing while at home, so you can kick into practice whenever the spirit moves you.
* Have a mat in whatever rooms in your home you might possibly want to practice in spontaneously
* Choose an asana (yoga posture) each week and incorporate it or variations of it, or other asanas that could prepare your body for it, to work on for that week.
* Be totally ok with having restorative, yin, very passive practices or very short practices here and there. You don't have to be all up in your yang about it all the time!
* Be totally ok with using your mat time for kriyas or pranayama or meditation rather than asana. Or a combination, even better.
* Study study study. It's inspiring.
* Find a very experienced teacher or teachers that resonate and actively be taught. Receive & apply. Re-teach yourself the lessons while on your mat, alone at home.
A sustained, mindful practice will transform you in ways much deeper and subtler than the flesh. Do this work and enjoy not only the health and body-beautiful benefits, but also coming home to your Self.
