Having a Meditation and Yoga Space at Home

Well-being is essential nowadays, so if you’re looking for new ways to enjoy a well-rounded and balanced lifestyle, having a space for it might be what you really need. Whether you want to create a meditation room, a yoga room, or a “me time” space, it’s easy to update your home to achieve it. Through some simple changes and a fresh outlook, anyone can immerse themselves in a relaxed home and lifestyle. Not only will this approach make your home calmer and more inviting, but it’s also beneficial to your mental health and overall wellness. Read on for some helpful tips to bring your home into perfect harmony.

Importance of wellness for improving my lifestyle

When you practice wellness, you’re taking steps to improve your health and your lifestyle. Whether you practice yoga daily or enjoy morning meditation, this act can make a significant difference in your life as a whole. You can integrate the concept of wellness into your home design, too. Doing this will show a marked improvement in your mental health, your outlook, and how you interact with others. When your home is calming and balanced, you’ll begin to see improvements in every facet of your life.

The benefits of yoga and meditation

Yoga 

The practice of yoga is an ancient discipline and life philosophy that includes not only our body but our mind and our breath. Through postures, breathwork, and meditation we start to develop a greater awareness as individuals and as a collective. There are different yoga styles to practice depending on what we are looking for: if you are looking for a relaxed and easier on the body practice we might better look for Hatha, Kundalini, Iyengar, Yin, or Restorative yoga classes. However, if we want something more physical or energetic, we can try Vinyasa, Bikram, Ashtanga, or Rocket yoga.

There are many benefits when doing yoga and meditation, some of them include gaining a new perspective on stressful situations, building skills to manage your stress, focusing on the present, reducing negative emotions, increasing imagination and creativity, and improving patience and tolerance. Some other benefits are:

• Balance, Flexibility, and Strength: It´s been proved that the practice of yoga postures improves muscle strength and overall balance. The corporal awareness we develop when working with our body, our breath, and our awareness helps us have better coordination.
• Improves Lung Capacity: The practice of yoga includes working with our breathing, so through the practice we start improving our lungs´ capacity. This has a great impact on our heart health, our stress levels, and our sleep.
• Better physical health: With a balanced diet, a good yoga routine can help make you feel and be healthier overall, improve your posture, be more flexible, feel more energetic, and start to sleep better.
• Helps with Back Pain: Yoga and meditation can help with certain forms of pain. In this sedentary world we live in, we are used to spending a lot of time on one posture, which makes our body lose flexibility and feel stiffer. By the practice of yoga and moving your body in different ways, will increase your spine´s strength and flexibility.

Meditation

• More balance: Meditating every day will help you feel more balanced both emotionally and physically. This will improve your attitude, give you more energy, and help you relax more easily, even when times are stressful.
• You’ll be more self-aware: Practicing self-care and living in a balanced home will help you become more aware of yourself, your thoughts, and your surroundings. You’ll also start to notice that you experience better mindfulness which can help you be more empathetic to others.
• More at ease: A mindfulness lifestyle can help you feel more at ease and in tune with the world. It will give you a better balance in your work, your relationships, and yourself.
• Reduce Stress: Meditation has proven to help lower the levels of cortisol in our body, by focusing on our breath and calming our mind, we stop worrying and stressing out about everyday things.
• Promotes Emotional Health: Deep meditation allows us to understand the way our mind navigates through our thoughts, with time increases our positive thoughts and starts helping us change our perspective in life to focus on the good things in life.
• Live in the moment: Living in the present means stopping thinking about the past or the future and being fully conscious and enjoying your life. Working on self-care ultimately means self-recognition that improves and strengthens self-esteem when one awakens self-awareness and strives to take care of oneself daily.

Make the perfect room

There are elements that will make the perfect space for what you need, so make sure you consider all or some of these:

• Find the space: Find a spot where you can feel relaxed. It doesn’t need to be the whole room, it can be a corner in your bedroom, living room, or maybe your balcony; it needs to be as big for you to move around when practicing yoga. Try to pick a space away from any noises or distractions. If possible, find a spot where there is a window, take advantage of the natural air and the sunlight so you can feel more connected to nature. 
• Add some plants: Add some houseplants to the space, they are a beautiful and natural decor touch. They even may help to lower your stress levels and make you feel more calmed and relaxed. You can add a snake plant or some succulents if you have limited space.
• Add decorative touches: Look for some quartz crystals to place around the room. This stone is a great decor element by adding texture and visual interest to your space. You can also add a photo of your family, pet, or any other element that makes you feel happy and grateful.
• Have a clean space: While you might add some decoration to the space, keep clutter and excess décor to a minimum so that you can concentrate better, feel more at ease and enjoy a clean and clear space.
• Color: Color is one of the most essential elements of interior design, it can affect your mood and well-being. Here are some tips for using color to help you improve your space. Choose soft or neutral colors to relax your mind and help you feel calm. Blue is a color that encourages calm and healing. You can paint the room, a wall, or just hang some beautiful artwork featuring these colors.

Remember that this is your happy place, only have around things that bring you joy, which will serve you in the best way possible and eliminate the things that don’t.

Elements for a great meditation and yoga practice

As you start to design your sacred space, be sure to add some or all of these elements for a great practice.

• Yoga mat: This is an essential tool for practicing yoga. There are mats with different thicknesses, grips, colors, and patterns. Find a yoga mat that fits your needs.
• Yoga props: Yoga Props help us adapt our yoga practice to our body’s needs. Using blocks, straps, dharma wheels, blankets, and bolsters depending on the style of yoga we are practicing will help us improve our mobility and flexibility with time.
• Candles and incense: Burn a scented candle or light some incense for soothing aromatherapy. Smells can influence your mood, so choose fragrances of lavender, ylang-ylang, or peppermint to give your home a calming vibe.
• Music: The music you listen to can also affect your mood. Play soothing instrumental music while you relax, read, or do yoga or meditation. You’ll be surprised by the amazing benefits that practicing meditation and yoga with music can have.
• Singing bowls and bells: A Tibetan singing bowl is an ancient instrument that emits a soothing, healing sound. Use this instrument to calm your mind. Bells also help to emit tones that encourage positive energy. Have them around and sound your bells whenever you need a mental pick-me-up.
• Altars: Designate an area of your special corner or room for a meditation altar. You can add candles, small crystals, and photos of your loved ones if you choose. Approach your altar daily in the morning or before bedtime to feel grounded and provide you with a safe space to meditate.
• Meditation cushion: If you practice meditation at home, use a comfortable, colorful cushion for sitting on. This cushion will support your body and make it more comfortable while you meditate.
• Japa mala beads: These beautiful strings of beads are used to count mantras and can be a helpful meditation tool. Reach for them whenever you want to meditate or hang them on the wall as a piece of calming décor.

Different uses of your sacred space

You can use this special space for other activities like:

• Therapies: Enjoy your new, beautiful room or corner by practicing various beneficial therapies. Whether it’s Reiki or yoga, designate the space where you can practice your therapy in a safe and quiet environment.
• Reading: Your newly relaxing spot is a perfect place for reading a good book. Design a cozy reading nook with a comfortable chair and floor lamp so you can relax as you turn the pages.
• Writing: The act of writing can be very therapeutic. Make sure you have a place where you can sit down and write, whether it’s on your computer or with a pen and paper.
• Relaxing: Doing nothing is also doing something. Learn to spend some time relaxing and enjoying yourself in a quiet and calm space. You can add some music, close your eyes and take a break from the everyday rush.

Involve the whole family

Wellness is better if everyone in the household is involved. If you all share the same lifestyle, you’ll live in a relaxed and calm environment, so try to involve your whole family. Maybe some will practice yoga and meditation, and some will use that space to read, relax, or journaling but make sure it’s a space everyone can enjoy. 

Involving your kids into meditation and a mindfulness lifestyle will help them improve their concentration, creativity, and mood and help them manage stress. There are a lot of fun yoga and meditation techniques for kids so that they can enjoy it. 
Meditation and yoga are great for seniors, too; they can help them boost their mood, lower their stress levels and help them be more focused.

Creating a meditation room, or a relaxation space in your home will improve your well-being, mood, and physical health. With the right colors and elements, you’ll be able to experience the harmony and balance you deserve for a better lifestyle. Setting up a yoga space could be just the motivation you need to set up your own small business through a yoga studio down the line. Keep these tips in mind, so you can get started designing your holistic home and experience a harmonious environment.