Tips and Tools to Boost Your Yoga Experience by Shelia Johnson

Practicing yoga can generate many health benefits that make it exciting at first, such as relieving stress. But once you’ve gotten past the beginner stage, your yoga routine may need a little pick-me-up. You can take your yoga experience to the next level by using different tools, technology, and tips to make it more engaging than ever.

Add Key Apps

One of the best ways to elevate your yoga experience is through apps. There are a multitude of helpful, fun, intuitive apps to choose from, and you don’t have to break the bank to gain access to them. Marie Claire points to apps that offer 5-minute routines, cardio-focused flows, and there is even one that helps you create opportunities for yoga on the fly.

Set & Track Goals

Setting goals to help track your improvement can help you see where you’ve gained strength and benefit from your routines. There are a few things that can help you do this. Using an app such as Track Yoga can help you not only gain access to yoga tips, poses, and guidance, but you can also track your goals, milestones, successes, and more.

Another great way to monitor your progress and goals is to keep a journal. There are apps for this, or you can use an old-fashioned paper and pencil journal. Either way, remembering why you started and how far you’ve come is a great motivator.

Listen to Your Body, Not Your Mind

Through your yoga practice, you’ve strengthened your body, added flexibility, and gained stamina. Now is the time to try variations on poses that your teacher suggests. By leaving your comfort zone, you can not only grow in your practice physically but rekindle your motivation.

It’s also a great time to practice the breathing aspects of yoga. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget about how important your breathing is to the practice and how the meditation aspects of yoga are quite healing. To help you work on this, add the Universal Breathing Pranayama to your phone. This app helps you master correct breathing techniques, which can further improve the health benefits that you see from yoga.

If you’re practicing your breathing at home, you’d do well to make sure your home is a positive space where you can relax and focus. Remove bad energy by decluttering, opening your window, and lighting some sage.

Try Something New

Now is the time to try something new. Take a different class, try a new teacher, pick a different time to practice, invest in a new app – the possibilities are endless. By mixing it up, you’ll gain new perspectives on the art of yoga and might find a new routine in the process. If your usual teacher ay Yoga Den is Christie, why not try Kerry, Emily or Danielle?

One app that seems fun to try is called Yoga Wake Up. This app is an alarm clock that wakes you up and uses guided meditation and yoga right from your bed to get you going. It eases you into the morning gently but helps get your body active and set up for the day.

Let Yourself Have 5 Minutes

If you’re finding you have less and less time to devote to your yoga practice, remember that it doesn’t need to be an entire class. Even five minutes a day can be effective. Try the app 5 Minute Yoga, which is available for Android and iOS. This app gives you short yoga sessions that can be done in five minutes or less, which will provide a way to overcome the excuse that there’s never enough time.

Don’t Forget the Self-Care

Yoga is a helpful way to get in some self-care time. It reduces stress and gives many physical health benefits, and it’s a fun way to enjoy some downtime. No matter how you choose to elevate your yoga practice, the important thing is to remember to keep it up!

For expert yoga instruction in a variety of styles, book a class at Christie Harley Yoga!