The major benefit of having a dedicated space at home is the ability to practice yoga and meditation with ease and without distraction. While it is ideal to have a separate home yoga room, you can easily create a small section of your bedroom or living room to practice in. Your personal yoga sanctuary becomes your sacred zone to relax, unwind, and go deep into your practice. It also serves as an inspiration and motivation for a consistent yoga practice at home.

Why you need a dedicated home yoga space

Having a dedicated yoga space in the home can improve your overall health and wellness by motivating you to practice more frequently. A home practice provides many other benefits, such as saving time, money, energy and stress. A dedicated space gives you the opportunity to set aside your worries and concerns and focus solely on your practice. Ideally, it becomes a sanctuary where you can retreat from the stress and worry of the world. If you have never practiced at home before, check out our tips on how to start a home yoga practice.

How to create a home yoga studio

Creating a home yoga studio requires some planning, but also very little effort. It’s important to create an environment that helps you relax so you can practice your meditation techniques more effectively. A yoga room should feel comfortable and peaceful. You should decorate it to reflect your personal style and spiritual needs.

1. Designate your yoga space.
   Choose an area in your house where you will be able to practice regularly. It doesn’t matter if it’s a room in your house or a separate studio space, just make sure you will only use the space for your yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices. This could be a spare bedroom, a corner of the living room, or an under-used spot in your home. A good starting point for a home yoga studio is about 20 square feet. This will give you a pleasant area to practice asanas. Make sure there is enough room to move through your sun salutations and to store your props. If you will be practicing handstands and other inversions, make sure you have enough space around you so that if you fall or tumble, you don’t end up breaking something.
2. Design with intention.
   A calm and relaxing atmosphere is key to practicing yoga. You want to create a space that inspires peace, mindfulness, focus and tranquility. Take some time to envision what your ideal space looks like and how you’ll feel once you enter it. Write down three to five specific things you’d love to achieve as a result of having a gorgeous yoga studio and use these as your guiding principles when making design choices.
3. Choose calm colors.
   The colors you choose should reflect the overall vibe and intention for your yoga practice. For example, if you want to relax, you might pick calming shades like blues and greens. If you want to energize yourself, you could opt for brighter hues like reds and yellows. Whatever your intention, make sure that the colors you select complement each other. Choose muted, cooler tones or warmer whites for your wall as These colors recede rather than demand attention. You can accent with brighter and more vivid colors with small furniture items or props.
4. Set the mood with lighting.
   Lighting has a big impact on our mood. The right color temperature and brightness can increase alertness, creativity and focus, while too bright light can cause headaches, migraines and fatigue. Filtered natural light will be best, but if your space has small windows or you practice at night, you’ll need other light sources. Consider adding a dimmer switch or purchasing lamps with 3-way switches to control how much light we get into our homes. Active practices like vinyasa and ashtanga should have brighter lighting, where more calming styles like gentle, yin and restorative work better with dim lighting. Candles and salt lamps are good choices for dim lighting that invoke a meditative mood.
5. Add beauty and inspiration.
   The idea behind this one is simple: find something beautiful, whether it’s a painting, sculpture or photo, and let it inspire you. This could be anything from a piece of art to a photograph of a friend, guru, or family member. It doesn’t matter what it is—just look at it and think about why it makes you feel so happy.
6. Bless your space with a scent.
   To sanctify your at home yoga space, start by lighting a scented candle, burning an incense stick, or even just spritzing yourself with essential oils. Just don’t overdo it as too much sent or smoke can actually affect your breathing. Mindfully choose what you use as each scent has different effects on us. Some people prefer sweet fragrances, while others enjoy spicy smells. Experiment until you find the perfect combination for you.
7. Clean the air with house plants.
   Being around plants and tending to them cultivates mindfulness, relaxation, and peace of mind. Plants also help purify the air in your home, which is especially important during pranayama and challenging sequences. Look for houseplants that grow well with the level of light in your space. If you don’t have a green thumb, consider succulents, cacti, snake plants, spider plants, and ferns because they require very little water.
8. Check your form with mirrors.
   A full-size mirror is a lovely addition to any yoga studio or home practice space. A big one will let you see yourself properly, which will give you a better idea of what your alignment looks like. It will make you feel more aware and confident as you do your poses.
9. Light candles for a calm mood.
   Candles help set a relaxing mood for meditating and asana practice. Purchase high-quality candles that are dripless and smokeless. Try using all-natural soy candles since they burn cleaner than paraffin wax. If you are afraid of burning things while using them, choose flameless candles with LED lights.
10. Set up your sound.
    Music can enhance your meditation or yoga practice. Choose music that inspires you and relaxes you. Meditation music is often soothing and peaceful; however, there are plenty of other types of music that can help you unwind. Depending on the size of your space, a small or medium-sized bluetooth speaker should work great to provide enough volume to practice with.
11. Use crystals to heal and protect.
    Crystals and gemstones are used in yoga and meditation to affect mood, focus, and energy. There are many types of crystals, each with its own special properties. These all have different uses, ranging from healing to protection to purification. They also amplify your intentions and make beautiful additions to any home practice room.
12. Add statues for inspiration.
    Stone, wood or brass statues of Buddhas and Hindu deities like Krishna or Ganesha can serve as an inspiration for your practice. You can place them anywhere in your yoga sanctuary. Statues can be used as a visual reminder of what we’re striving toward. You can use them to remind yourself to stay present, to focus on your breath, to connect with your own energy, and to open your heart.
13. Create a sacred altar.
    An altar is a great way to bring together all the elements that you need to support your practice. It’s a space that you create to reflect upon your life and what you want to experience as you move forward. Start by creating a place where you can set out candles, incense, crystals, statues, photos and any other items that you associate with your spiritual journey. You may wish to have all five elements of nature represented. Just make sure that everything you put there has meaning for you.
14. Outfit your studio with essential elements.
    You don’t need a ton of equipment to practice yoga, but there are a few essential yoga items you will need to support your yoga practice. You will need a yoga mat, one or two yoga blocks, and a yoga strap. If you practice hot yoga, you will want some hand towels, a mat towel and an efficient space heater. If you practice yin, gentle or restorative poses, consider adding a few bolsters and blankets. Other items to consider are a yoga ball, a meditation cushion, a chair, a yoga wheel and resistance bands. Store your items on a small shelf or in a spacious basket for easy access while keeping it out of sight.
15. Keep it clean and tidy.
    Your practice space should feel fresh and new every time you return to it. Make it a ritual to put your props away and tidy up the space after each session. Make sure you regularly clean the space, including your mat and props.

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Janet Jackson has had a longstanding commitment to fitness, from her iconic ab-bearing Rolling Stone cover in the ’90s to her remarkable slimdown after welcoming son Eissa in 2017. Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the singer/actress has made her workouts a top priority—and it shows.

In a new photo posted to her Instagram account, Jackson reveals her incredible workout progress, doing a full split in front of a mirror—and in high-heeled boots, no less.

“🍌 Split 😉,” she captioned the impressive photo.

Jackson’s amazing progress has inspired countless other fans to attempt the tricky moves themselves, with numerous fans posting photos of their own split progress to Instagram along with the hashtag #splitchallenge. Boosting her flexibility isn’t the only way Jackson’s made major changes to her overall fitness, however. Read on to discover what else the star does to achieve her incredible figure. And for more celebrity fitness news, Kristen Bell Does This Exact 30-Minute Workout Every Day.

While Jackson may not share many updates about herself on social media, her trainer, Paulette Sybliss, has been vocal about how much hard work Jackson puts in to achieve her fit frame.

In a 2017 interview with E! Online, Sybliss revealed that Jackson dropped 70 pounds following the birth of her son without doing any cardio.

“We were doing three or four exercises with weights back to back. What that does—you would look at her and think she’d done like an hour of cardio with me—but when you’re working with weights and you’re working the muscle that way, it elevates the heart rate, but also it’s creating that fat burning affect both during the session and also when she left me, and that was key,” explained Sybliss.

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Jackson’s workouts may be grueling, but she doesn’t log long hours in the gym to get results.

“We were training a minimum of four times a week and the sessions were never less than 45 minutes, no more than an hour. Very intense, though,” explained Sybliss. And for more celebrity transformations, Real Housewives Star Reveals the Two Foods She Stopped Eating to Lose 20 Pounds.

In order to maintain her progress without being sidelined by overexertion, Sybliss explained that taking time off to rest was essential.

“I need to keep her fit and healthy,” said Sybliss. “We make sure that she rests [and] she doesn’t get injured.”

However, despite Janet’s massive weight loss, Sybliss revealed that the star wasn’t depriving herself to reach her goal.

“I believe that if you’re eating well 90/95% of the time, you can eat in moderation anything that you want,” said Sybliss. “If Janet feels that she needs to have a chocolate cake, go ahead and have a chocolate cake. You’re not eating it every day. You won’t get fat overnight…A majority of the time she’s really eating well.” And for more on your favorite celebs, Heather Graham Celebrates Her Bikini Body In New Video.

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