Disclosure: I am part of the OM Yoga Blogger Programme. I have been provided me with a free subscription to the magazine in exchange for writing a blog post for each month. All opinions and thoughts are my own. Links/Ads for OM Yoga are affiliated referral links. See my policy page HERE for more detail.

Although I love Yoga, I've never taken a yoga class. Something about it really intimidates me and I just prefer to go at my own pace and practice in the comfort of my own home. That's why this article caught my eye and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to give you my 'Home Yoga Essentials' that I personally use for practicing Yoga at home.

A Good Quality Yoga Mat

When I first started with Yoga, I had a pretty bobby basic mat, which is perfectly fine if you're starting out and don't want to spend a lot of money. However, there are a couple of pros to getting a better yoga mat. Thickness and Material are two big things to look at when choosing a mat.

Thickness - Having a thin mat can be tough on pressure points such as your tail bone(boat pose) and doing a headstand on a mat where you feel like you're using just the floor can be painful.  Standard mats are usually 1/8 inch thick, whereas premium mats are 1/4 inch. The downside to a thicker mat, is you may not feel as much of a connection to the floor, so balance may be slightly off whilst you get used to a new mat.

Material - Yoga Mats come in all sorts of material - Most standard mats are PVC, stickiness, eco-friendliness and sponginess all come into play. Stickiness was a key factor for me as I was slipping and sliding on my mat when holing certain poses so I bought a mat with a material that was sticky for extra grip.

Clothing Choices

Although not imperative, I think its fair to say, that when in downward dog, you don't particularly want your top coming up over your head, or going into tree pose and standing on your trouser leg and toppling over.

There are affordable workout clothing brands that you can buy to help out with this issue. Tops/Tanks with bands around the waist to secure them from coming over your head or riding up and crops/leggings so you don't have issues with getting tangled up in extra material.

There are more expensive clothing brand options available around too and if you're already a committed Yogi, this is a good option as they will last and be of good quality! Brands like Teeki, Kismet and My Inner Fire have some gorgeous pieces that I've been eyeing up! Like these gorgeous leggings!:

Environment

Yoga is usually a time to wind down and relax and be stress free, at least for me. You should pick a room and make space for your mat(and also some extra for arms and legs either side of the mat). Make the room comfortable and serene for your practice. You should give yourself time to enjoy yourself and be in the moment with no distractions.

Home Yoga Classes

The OM Yoga Magazine gives a plethora of online resources that people use all over the world to  practice yoga in their own homes. So, if you're like me and don't feel comfortable doing yoga among other people, don't have the time to travel to a yoga class or maybe you don't have anything close to you, then online yoga is the next best thing!

The magazine reviews some of the best Online Yoga resources, so its well worth a read if its something you're considering!

Online yoga isn't usually free, however, many sites offer a trial period and some limited free content for you to try. Prices vary from site to site, but they are usually subscription based, where you will pay a fee for a certain time, for e.g. a month. You will get to do as many online classes as you like for that monthly fee and I'm sure it would turn out to be more cost effective.

I'd definitely heard of some of the sites the article recommended like Ekhart Yoga (I'm a fan of her Youtube channel!)and I'll be having a look into all of them and testing the waters with online classes. All the sites/classes differ with different types of Yoga like Astanga and Vinyasa, so there is something for everyone!

Thanks again to OM Yoga for providing me with the subscription to the magazine, I look forward to reading more editions of the magazine. If you'd like to find out more about the magazine, then you can check out the other OM Yoga Bloggers for their posts on different articles in the magazine *HERE*

If you're interested in the magazine and maybe you want to read the full article, OM Yoga Magazine is available in digital and print versions and there is also a US version of the magazine too! You can buy the magazine as a one off just to get a taste of the content or you can jump right on in and get a 5 or 10 month subscription by clicking the link below*affiliated ad/link*.

You won't be disappointed, I will definitely continue to get the magazines!

Question: Is Yoga a part of your routine? Have you ever been to a real Yoga Class? Would you consider online classes?