Outdoor Yoga Tips

Yoga is a wonderful way to regain balance in your life, increase your flexibility and core strength, and reduce stress. Yoga is even more fantastic when you can breathe in the fresh air of nature while you are working through your routine!

Here is my outdoor yoga setup. As you can see, it is extremely simple to create your own yoga "studio" in nature! All you need is a good mat and some space. If you currently have a very thin mat, I would invest in a thicker mat for your outside efforts. It can make a real difference in how well you enjoy the experience.

To begin with, try to have a flat area to lay the mat down on. The mat is thick, but you can probably still feel any rocks or sticks poking through it.

When choosing a location for your mat, make sure there is ample room around your mat for your arms and legs to move. You want to have at least a mat width of space on either side of the mat lengthwise, and some clearance at the head and tail end as well.

Wear sunscreen. Even if it seems the sun is not that strong, or it is cloudy, the dangerous rays that can cause skin cancer are still coming down at you. Sunscreen will help protect your skin and ensure you stay healthy for years to come. I even wear a hat if it is fairly sunny out. I have a boonie hat that has a strap on it. That way it stays on even when I am in a head-down position.

You can make your own garden by bringing in basket flowers or other types of plants, as shown in my photo. Whatever type of flowers or environment you want - tropical, English garden, herbal - you can create it easily with containers.

Often there will be one view that is lovely and other views which are less appealing to you. Take some time to try different orientations out and find the one that works best for you!

I love the sounds of birds chirping, but if your outdoor location has less lovely sounds, bring along an ipod with small speakers. Don't try to wear the iPod while you do the yoga - the cords can get challenging! Instead, set up the iPod near the mat with the small speakers aimed at you. You can play whatever type of music most suits your yoga style.

Be sure to bring along a reusable container of water. You can get thirsty after doing a yoga session, and hydration is very important!

Finally, I often bring paper notes with me to guide me along whatever routine I want to do for the day. Be sure to have something you can put on top of the paper - your shoes, the water bottle, a rock - to keep the paper from flying around.

Enjoy!

Yoga for Forgiveness Yoga for Stress Relief and Forgiveness provides a step by step recipe for calm and healing. Author Lisa Shea has been following this practice for a decade and over time has tweaked and polished the steps until each one resonates with serenity. Yoga for Forgiveness - Full Details

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