Is it better to practice yoga at home, or attend studio classes?
Group classes, on-line classes, and a (self-directed) home practice are the trifecta of a well-rounded yoga practice. Having some of each in just the right amounts makes for phenomenal progress on this path called yoga.
If I am being entirely candid, I must admit that the more studying and formal yoga teacher training I did, the more it seemed to spoil my ability to enjoy attending studio classes. I confess that I have sometimes used those drop-in, mixed-level classes to zone out. I would turn off my teacher brain and just be led through a sequence pretty mindlessly, which is actually missing the point of yoga entirely!? And other times, I intended to switch off the teacher brain, but found she wouldn’t be quiet. So, I ended up listening to both the external teacher’s cues along with my own internal teacher voice cueing the entire class – and left rather mentally exhausted, which also misses the point of yoga entirely!?
In one casual, post-class conversation, as we all moseyed out the door, I actually said something along the lines of, ‘yeah, I sort of half-ass my practice at the studio. My home practice looks entirely different.’ And while no one heading out of the studio with me that evening probably gave it a second thought, my inner (wiser) voice began to pester me. Of course your home practice looks entirely different, but why in the world would you half-ass your way through a class – ever!? What’s the point of even coming to a class then!? That’s just dumb!
And then it dawned on me, it is important to be really clear about the needs served in group classes, needs met by on-line classes, and the purpose of a home practice. The intention for each is very different because they all have something different to offer, and none can take the place of any other.
The Benefit of Studio Memberships
The Good Stuff
Studio classes give us an opportunity to meet and practice with like-minded folks. We can foster a sense of community and feed our inherent need to connect with others. And, if we are being really honest, sometimes it gets us on the mat when we might have otherwise easily skipped practicing altogether one day, but ‘oh man, I told so-and-so I’d see her in class Thursday!?… I can’t skip class now!’ It gives us a tribe to belong to and keeps us accountable.
Going to class can also be an opportunity to get some real, live, face-to-face learning with a teacher. (Though I’d argue this benefit is really only possible in private, semi-private, and small group classes where the teacher can actually have a moment to see you in the crowd.) It is like having a well-trained set of eyes that can see you from every angle to help point out unhealthy movement patterns and funky postural habits you’ve been blind to. Then your teacher can give you tools and variations to transform your particular bad habits into healthy movement patterns and good posture, setting you on your way to being balanced, healthy, and whole. And if you have a very skilled teacher, they can offer you tools to transform not just muscles, but also your physiology and mental-emotional health. And that, right there, is the point of yoga: holistic transformation.
The Real Deal
That said, it has been my personal experience that – at least in my neck of the woods – most group classes are either too large or lead by teachers too inexperienced yet to provide transformational learning for individuals… So, I find that I lean into attending group classes myself primarily just for the love of practicing yoga from time to time with my tribe. It’s like the frosting on the cupcake of my yoga practice, though it doesn’t make up the bulk of it.
The Benefits of On-line Subscriptions
The Good Stuff
I am a fan of the virtual yoga studio with limitless class options and access to amazing, experienced teachers all over the world. A simple, inexpensive, on-line subscription and I can ‘take a yoga class’ every day of the week and twice on Tuesdays, if I’d like! As a perpetual student, the content of on-line classes available is fantastic. (And, if I tune into a class that turns out to be a let down, I can just log out and find a new class with a few clicks. None of this ‘I’m just staying and wasting my hour now because I don’t want to interrupt class’ like I would in a live, studio class.)
The Not So Good Stuff
There is no tribe to be part of here. There is no real, face-to-face connection, which means no real accountability. So practicing regularly enough to make that relatively inexpensive subscription fee actually worth while, well, it requires real self-motivation. So-and-so won’t know if you skip class Thursday.
Without the face-to-face connection with a live teacher, practicing yoga this way can also result in making little real transformational progress (which is a death sentence for self-motivation). Because you don’t have a trained set of eyes to help point out unconscious, unhealthy habits along the way, you end up just doing more of the same poor movement pattern over and over. And, worst case scenario, you can end up injuring yourself. You have no realtime feedback from a live teacher to tell you, ‘yeah, headstand is in this sequence, but it’s not a good one for you today.‘ This makes on-line classes tricky if you are newer to yoga and/or have less proprioceptive-/self-awareness.
Caveat: Occasional workshops and retreats are a great way to get the learning + the real live teacher, I have found, if on-line yoga is the bulk of your yoga practice.
The Real Deal
I find the opportunities to learn from experienced, well-known teachers around the world is great to sprinkle on top of a regular, weekly routine at the studio. It scratches the itch to learn something new, which I then can take to the studio, where a face-to-face teacher can keep an eye on me.
The Need for a Home Practice
The Good Stuff
Self-directed practices at home allow us to step into our own responsibility for making progress. An external teacher – whether in person or on-line – can only take us so far. At some point, we have to learn to tune into our own internal teacher to really unfold our potential. A daily home practice is where it’s at!
Everyone’s home practice could – and should, really – look different. Likely different on different days even. It would include working with all of the eight limbs (Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, and Dhyana) to whatever extent needed in any given day or season of life. This is largely what fills the gaps often left by studio or on-line classes, which tend towards lots of content on asana with only a dash of the other seven limbs.
Having a daily home practice is a little like taking your yoga multi-vitamin. It is that bit of insurance ensuring your yoga diet has all the necessary nutrients even if your studio/on-line practices are heavy on the meat and potatoes and light on the leafy greens.
The Real Deal
While this should make up the foundation of your yoga, it is often seen or talked about the least. Most folks would likely say they feel as if they know too little about yoga to have any idea what to do on their own. And most teachers, who definitely ought to know enough, de-prioritize their own home practices as planning classes, practicing sequences, and teaching schedules crowd their time. So, while everyone would benefit from a daily home practice, the real deal is that most folks – teachers included, and they are probably the biggest culprits – skip it.
I would even suggest that this is one of the fundamental reasons many folks don’t see much transformation and progress, loose motivation, and give up yoga (or teaching).
We have to each own our own practice. Consider what our intention is overall for practicing yoga, and then commit to doing a little something every day in support of that intention. Bake the cupcake. Frost it with some sweet studio classes and sprinkle a little on-line learning on top. Then we get to truly enjoy this thing called yoga.
How Do You Create a Home Practice?
If you are newer to the world of yoga on your own, find a good teacher who can help you design a practice you can do at home daily. Brownie points if you find a teacher who will also check in and help hold you accountable to practice daily.
Over time, you will likely find your home practice evolves as you go.
If you feel more confident in your yoga knowledge base (of all eight limbs and the many tools, including asana, pranayama, mantra, etc.), great books are around to help inspire and guide you on designing your own practice. Brownie points if you get a buddy – or even a book club going – to work through the book together and hold one another accountable to practice daily.
Over time, if your home practice seems to plateau, connect with an experienced teacher to strike up a mentoring relationship that can revive your home practice again.
The Real Deal
This is a lot of yoga in one’s life! I know it! If you find yoga to be as impactful in your life as it has been in mine, I am confident you will be plenty motivated to make room in your schedule for all this yoga.
Yoga students go to class.
Yogis practice at home (as well as attend class).
Kara-Leah Grant, author of Forty Days of Yoga
That said, it’s all good if this is more yoga than you’ll ever need. Some of us just like to eat the frosting off the cupcakes. No shame in that at all!
However you yoga, may it be a sweet blessing to your days, my friends!