Yoga practice - at home or in the studio?

A German study by the BDY (..) from 2018 found out that 54 % of people being interviewed said they practice yoga at home, 27 % go to a studio, 24 % take part in a course at the VHS (German adult education centres) or sports clubs and 16 % use the yoga-offering at their gym.

I was actually a bit surprised by how many people practice yoga at home and in comparison, how few at a studio. Especially when these days it feels like there is a yoga studio around every corner.

What´s your favourite place to practice yoga?

I for myself, love my yoga home practice. When I first discovered yoga, I practiced with YouTube-videos at home. Back then I found yoga studios somewhat deterrent. But once yoga became more and more fascinating, I wanted to visit a studio. Until then, I didn’t actually know whether I was doing things right at home. Was my alignment of the postures even correct? It followed a phase where I went to 5 different classes at different studios with different teachers of a variety of yoga styles every week. I wanted to try all the yoga that there was in Berlin. I wanted to find ‘my’ yoga style. Even though I felt comfortable at most studios, after all, practicing at home on my own mat has stayed my favourite. It is where I feel connected with myself the most.

---

What I love about my self-practice at home:

• 100 % freedom to do exactly what my body and mind are asking for (this requires some degree of sensitivity for your own needs, note to self: train your self-awareness)

• Time flexibility: I love to practice right after getting up in the mornings, generally I spend about 1,5 h on my mat, sometimes longer, sometimes only 10 minutes (still enough time for a few rounds of sun salutations or a brief meditation)

• Create your own little yoga space in your room/flat

• Choose your own music or enjoy the silence

---

What I love about practicing at a yoga studio:

• The feel-good-atmosphere: there has barely ever been a studio that I went to, where I didn’t feel the vibe (this is a personal experience though)

• The community-feeling: It is amazing to practice in a room full of yogis. The group dynamic is so energizing.

• Leaving the outside world behind for 60-90 minutes. Whenever I come to a studio, I feel so disconnected from whatever is happening in the outside world and leave the studio feeling refreshed, ready to tackle anything again amazing

• Discovering new yoga styles and teachers

How about yourself? What do you prefer? Where and how do you practice?