Practicing yoga surrounded by the white walls of the generic studios and hardwood floor around dozens of other people may sound rather depressing to you, especially if you’re an avid yoga practitioner. I often find for one, especially on days where I feel particularly gloomy, that yoga in a studio tends to be rather draining. The stagnant walls and generic surroundings feels almost all too artificial, reminding me of the bustle of my work life instead of providing me with relieve.
This is exactly why I prefer to take a break of studio classes once every few weeks and go out into the outdoors to practice my yoga asanas. The outdoors can prove to be an exhilarating experience for many, especially if it’s your first time. Everything around you are true and natural, allowing you to connect and be one with your surroundings ever so easily when adopting the various postures.
Benefits to practicing outdoor yoga
Aside from the usual challenges that the outdoor presents, you will find that the benefits that outdoor yoga provides far exceeds your usual expectations. For one, the change in scenery around you forces your senses to more sensitive, allowing you to be one with your environment easily. The change in surrounding would also mean your joints and muscles would not be accustomed to the new terrain and cause them to work more strenuously. This can be a good thing as it further trains your muscles, increasing both strength, dexterity and agility.
Adding to your heightened awareness and physical abilities, spending time with nature will refresh your senses and bring you a sense of vitality and serenity. Along with overcoming the fear of new experiences, outdoor yoga tends to bring out the best in you, expanding your comfort zone especially if you’re used to a life of safety and security.
Lastly, practicing yoga in the outdoors will expose you to sunshine and heaven knows how many people are actually deficient in their Vitamin D. Take this time to truly absorb nature and feel your stress and anxiety slowly dissipate.
Tips when practicing yoga outdoors
There would always be challenges when it comes to practicing yoga in the outdoors, regardless of the place you intend to practice your art. However, with proper preparation, you’d easily be able to assimilate in no time.
For one, you can always try to forgo the use of yoga mats when in the wild. Especially in areas where grass is abandon, the use of yoga mats would provide unnecessary cushion and lead to instability during your postures. You would want to steer clear of thick yoga mats if you decide that you require at least some protection and opt for a thinner mat with grip for increased stability. With that being said, the best practice would be just to lose the mat as grass provides sufficient cushion for your asanas.
Finally, the use of music in the outdoors is rather unnecessary and may instead be considered noise pollution for other nature goers. If you listen closely, you’ll realise that the sounds of nature work perfectly well as background music for your yoga sessions and you can take advantage of that to truly connect to your surroundings.
