I’ve well and truly been bitten by the yoga bug. Right now it’s the only form of workout I do, mainly because it’s one of the only workouts that I really truly enjoy. Some sessions make me laugh, others make me sweat – a lot – or feel chill and focused. It’s a magic little thing really. You lot all know by now that I’m a Yoga with Adriene fangirl. I’ve got the merch and squeal and do a screen grab each time Adriene favourites one of my tweets. If you’ve resisted my urgings to give it a go over the years then I’m going to give you another nudge because firing up my laptop in the morning and following one of her many routines (seriously, there’s a tonne to choose from, including a lot of beginner level videos) is the best way to start my day. I feel strong and badass and as the months go on I find myself getting closer and closer to actually touching my toes and feeling comfortable in certain poses that before were a strain to hold. I could rave about YWA for another 1000 words, but instead today I thought I’d share the deats on what you actually need if you fancy turning your front room into a mini yoga studio each morning…
I’d say the first thing is some comfortable clothing that you can move around in easily. I keep two slim-fit vests (I skip the sports bra because my boobs are non-existant and yoga is low-impact) and two pairs of soft leggings for yoga-use exclusively. One top is from Nike though I can’t find the exact one on the website and the other is my ‘Find What Feels Good’ YWA Vest; then for bottoms I love the Oysho ones and the WhistlesxFrame Studio Leggings which might just be the most comfortable thing that I own.
In terms of equipment it really is minimal. There’s nothing to stop you rolling out a towel or just doing your moves on a clean and soft surface, though a bit of padding does help to make things a bit more comfortable so I’ll point you in the right direction of a mat. There’s a load out there and TKMaxx, Sports Direct and Argos have some for an absolute bargains. I used one of these for about a year before I upgraded to the Lululemon The Mat 5mm (I picked it up and lugged it back all the way from New York because it was slightly cheaper over there!). It’s pricey but I feel like it’s made a big difference to my practice mainly because the grip is better and I don’t find myself sliding around as much. It’s nice and soft on the ol’ knees as well. I had a travel mat as well which got lost in the move. I can’t remember the brand of it, but I got it from TKMaxx and Amazon have some good’uns too.
Optional extras would be a strap and a block. Straps are sometimes helpful for stretching – especially if you’re extremely inflexible like yours truly. I have this one though I don’t actually use it too often aside from opening up my hamstrings from time to time. The block though I bring out pretty often. I have this one which comes in handy for some core moves that Adriene cracks out and helps raises the floor level for some moves that require you to touch the ground and I’m so not there yet. A girl can dream.
I think that’s it. See? There’s no excuse now 😉
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