Yoga During Self-Isolation: Budget-Friendly Tips for Maintaining a Home Yoga Practice

By Sheila Johnson

With yoga studios being closed amid the coronavirus outbreak, you may be falling behind on your daily practice, especially if you’re lacking the tools, equipment, and technology you need to sustain a consistent yoga practice from home. Or, you may be looking for ways to kick your home yoga practice up a notch without spending a whole lot of money on new gear.

Whether you’re looking to reduce stress and anxiety, improve your balance and flexibility, or stay active during your coronavirus quarantine, you can create a home yoga practice that you’ll want to sustain if you incorporate different technology, tools, and equipment into your routine. For some budget-friendly tips that will help you to get started, read on!

Save on New Yoga Gear and Apparel

If you’re used to practicing yoga at a fitness studio, you may already own a mat and yoga clothes, but you may be lacking a few of the props and accessories you’d normally borrow from your instructor. For the best home practice during self-isolation, Forbes recommends investing

in a yoga block, strap, bolster, and blanket. While these props and accessories aren’t essential to your home practice, they’ll help to take your quarantine yoga classes to the next level.

With a bit of digging, for example, you can even find ways to save at a wide variety of retailers with Rakuten coupons, cashback offers, and promo codes — helping you to stretch your dollar and purchase the gear you need to sustain a home yoga practice during the quarantine. If you can’t afford to splurge on yoga gear at this time, however, you can make your own yoga equipment using a few basic household items.

Here are some tips for making your own props and accessories at home:

Use a dictionary or thick, rolled-up towel in place of a block.
Grab a belt or scarf for stretches requiring a strap.
Roll two to three towels or blankets together into one firm roll for poses using a bolster.
Try a Free Online Yoga Challenge
Now that you have the props and apparel you need to kick your home practice up a notch, it’s time to challenge yourself to 30 full days of yoga. Due to the pandemic, several popular yoga communities are hosting their own 30-day challenges to help you build a successful home practice and cope with the challenges of self-isolation.
To challenge yourself to 30 days of yoga, check out these free online programs:

30 Days of Yoga with Adriene
The Transform Your Life 30-Day Challenge with DoYogaWithMe.com
The Men’s 30-Day Yoga Challenge with DOYOU
Yoga with Tim’s Total Body, Mind, and Spirit Challenge
While these online yoga challenges are a great way to stay motivated and on track to sustaining your home practice during self-isolation, it’s important to keep a record of your accomplishments and take note of how each class makes you feel. You could either use a fitness app to track your progress with a smartphone, or you can write in a journal if you’d prefer. However, keep in mind that many fitness apps are free to use, while the cost of purchasing a planner or journal could range from $5 to $30 on average.
The Bottom Line
The coronavirus outbreak has been a physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging time for many of us, but yoga can help us to feel happier, calmer, and less anxious — especially if we practice from home a few times each week. Plus, some yoga poses like the standing forward bend, legs up the wall, and pigeon pose are helpful for relieving stress during these trying times.

Even if you’re used to practicing yoga in a studio, these budget-friendly tips will help you to keep your practice going from the safety of your home. By purchasing the props and accessories you need to practice comfortably during quarantine, and by challenging yourself to 30 days of online yoga classes, you’ll build a home yoga routine that you’ll be more likely to stick with throughout the pandemic — and maybe even after it ends.