When I was in Bali doing my yoga teacher training I used to walk wearing my flip flops around the retreat. One day I kicked them off and left them outside the yoga shala before I stared my ashtanga practice.  Two hours later when I'd returned they were gone. Starting to have what one would only call a 'hissy fit' I ran around the retreat shouting in my rather loud voice "somebody has taken my flip flops!!! i've lost my flip flops, has anyone seen my shoes?"  then my teacher mark turned round and said to me "jade, why on earth are you you wearing shoes? Did you know you should be walking around barefoot as much as you can?" "Why?" I answered earthing or grounding is the simple practice of making direct physical contact with the earth and absorbing the earths natural energies. Walking or making contact with the earth means that the earth can conduct its natural negative electrons through to our bodies so that we have the same electrical potential as the earth, therefore grounding our bodies and giving us physiological and electrophysiological benefits. these may include antioxidant effects, boosts of immunity and reduction of inflammation just to name a few. in addition to health and wellbeing benefits grounding also helps to disrupt the effects of negative electromagnetic fields on our bodies often originating from various electrical household appliances for example. therefore grounding restores our body to it's most natural electrical state promoting the body to work to its highest functionality. in order to ground yourself all you need to do is walk around barefoot on grass, soil, gravel, sand, tiles, concrete or water ( although if you manage to walk on water i'd be pretty impressed be sure to get a picture of that! lol) also the more you do it the better so what are you waiting for? kick off those shoes and get walking. its the most fascinating, clever and free health kick you will ever give to your body.
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So, you go to yoga once or twice a week and you're really starting to see the benefits and feel the change the only problem is .... you just can't get enough! what next? create a home yoga space so that you can practice anytime you like or maybe not? you just want to sit in quiet, think, reflect , meditate? or maybe you just really want to nail that pose that you just can't quite seem to grip in class.
 
The little beauty that yoga is, means it can be practiced anywhere and anytime you like! no constraints, it can be practiced at home or outside with nature in a park, on a beach in a forest (the list  goes on .....) all you need is a few basic poses or sun salutations and a mat , put it altogether and you're ready to go. sounds easy right? so why do we often find ourselves making excuses not to do so, the reality is that we often 'talk' ourselves out of it and make excuses not to, when we are left to our own devices. self-will goes right out the window and more often than not we think we need a teacher or instructor to 'push' us.
 
Therefore the solution is.... if you want to flow at home you need to create a special home yoga place.... simples.
 
I used to live in a house with a garden in which i created a special home yoga place and everyday i would just go on my mat, practice all different types of asana and just well... flow! i found myself learning all sorts of new poses ....jheeez i stumbled into my first chin stand by accident lol... i transitioned from a plank to an arm balance and my legs just went straight up in the air and i thought wow i never knew i could do that! it was a great experience and i was literally overjoyed! then i moved into a flat  with not much room and nowhere with a space that i could really call mine. it didn't take long for my self practice to suffer..... i stopped playing and flowing and my practice felt like it became stagnant. now i'm not saying don't live in a flat but i am saying try and make a little space in that flat that's yours :) so ...
 
what is a yogaspace?

It is a little space with a mat that you can practice different asana, create flows (flowing from from one pose/ asana to another) sit and do pranayama or meditate. or you can sit and read a book, write in a journal or just have some quiet 'me' time, you can sit and enjoy a cup of green tea or any drink for that matter or maybe create a mood board.
 
Where put the yoga space?
 
Find a place at home that is relatively quiet and no one will disturb you. if you have a garden and live somewhere warm then outside is a lovely place in the nature, fresh air, warm sun beating down on you maybe with the fragrant smell of fresh flowers or freshly cut grass. i often like to walk barefoot on the grass it's incredibly grounding but hey that's another blog entry ;) put it somewhere light, natural and airy but most importantly put it somewhere that feels right :)
 
What will you need?
 
Well essentially i don't mean to state the obvious but you will need a yoga mat duh lol but you may want to add some little extras to make it perfect for you ; try adding yoga blocks yogastrap bolsters yoga pillows a blanket you might want to decorate your space with fairy lights, lanterns, scented candles, oil burners and essential oils, incense sticks, shells, flowers etc
 
But most importantly above all..... remember this is your space and you can have it however whatever wherever you desire!!!! enjoy;)
 

Yes...Christmas is literally around the corner with around 8 weeks to go. This year it might be a nice idea to contribute to somebody's wellness journey.

A new yoga mat is a lovely present for one of your yogi friends and at MatMat all of their yoga mats are eco friendly and come in 6 beautiful designes.

Price Range: £35-69

https://matmatshop.com/collections/buy-yoga-mat-online

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