How To Create a Calm Yoga Space at Home

Picture stepping into your favorite yoga studio. The soothing music, calming lights, and grounding smells transport you into a relaxing universe. In just moments, you can clear your mind and get into the right headspace for your yoga practice. 

These days, though, you’re more likely to be doing yoga at home. How can you replicate the studio experience for your downward dog and sun salutation? It may take a bit of adjusting to get your home practice just right, but these tips will help you create the right environment to continue your practice at home.

How to create a yoga space at home

1. Choose the right place

The first and most important question is where in your home you wish to practice yoga. Scope out a place in your home that can serve as a calm, private, and quiet space. If you don’t have a lot of room, consider what you can use, like a yoga mat or a yoga blanket, to roll out while you practice.

2. Declutter your space

As you create your yoga space, try to keep the room free of clutter. Clear away anything you aren’t using at that moment. A clear space means a clear head: Princeton University researchers proved in a 2011 study that our minds focus better in an uncluttered space.

3. Stimulate your senses

Once you’re free of visual distractions, get into the right mood by treating another sense: smell. You want your space to have a relaxing scent, so think about aromas that make you feel calm. Yoga teachers recommend scents like lavender, jasmine, and palo santo. Light a scented candle, incense or essential oil diffuser to get the mood right.

4. Try different accessories

Accessories to assist your practice can be just as important as your surroundings. Invest in a yoga mat that’s comfortable, easy to clean, and rolls up for compact storage. Yoga bolsters such as a special blanket, yoga blocks, and straps can also be helpful options for deep stretching and easing you into comfortable poses.

How to use lighting to create a calm yoga space at home

Light can play a key role in your at-home yoga practice. The fixtures you choose to illuminate your yoga space can influence your mood and mindset, helping you further relax. Here are four ways to utilize lighting to outfit the perfect yoga space at home:

• Color. When choosing colors, use the same principles as you did when decluttering. The lights should not be distracting—soft, gentle lighting can help you focus and even influence your mood. Try out hues that can help you relax, like blue, red, green or calming light colors.
• Brightness. Gentle, dim light can help you get into the right relaxing mindset for yoga practice at home. If you have dimmer switches, experiment with the right level that helps you settle into your yoga routine. You can also accomplish this with lamps that have several light settings; try turning on the lamps to the lowest setting.
• Patterns. Lighting is not just about brightness or color: the right pattern can create a unique ambience perfect for unwinding during your practice. Consider our Ark Ambient aurora light, which casts soft nebulas against a background of twinkling stars across your walls and ceiling.

ARK Aurora Light

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• Natural light. Nothing beats natural sunlight streaming in from a skylight or a window. Sunlight is directly linked to the production of the hormone serotonin, which can boost your mood and help you feel happier. If you like to practice yoga along with the sunrise, look for a space with large windows that face toward the light. Bask in the glow of the sunshine pouring into your space.

Lights you can use to create a calm yoga space at home

The right fixtures, colors, and patterns can transform any room in your home into the ideal yoga practice space. When it comes time to roll out your yoga mat and begin your flow, using a special fixture, light bulb, or light setting can help you achieve the ideal space at home for your yoga practice. Try one of these five lighting types to achieve the ideal yoga space at home.

• Dimmable lights: If you prefer your typical white or yellow light but don’t want it to shine at full brightness, try out a dimmable light. Whether a fixture you already have installed or a floor lamp with multiple settings, dimmable lights can ensure your lighting isn’t too harsh to interfere with the relaxation you’re aiming for.
• Galaxy lighting: Yoga should transport you into another, calming universe, and galaxy lighting can be just the ticket to take you there. These laser light fixtures project a swirling galaxy onto your walls and ceiling, with bright, sharp stars shine against hazy, swirling clouds. Many of these fixtures use calming colors like blue and green to project a whole other world with your at-home yoga space.

Sky Lite Evolve: Smart Galaxy Projector

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• Accent lighting: Utilize accent lighting to highlight small areas of your space, instead of illuminating the entire room. By definition, these smaller and more focused fixtures give off less light than ceiling lights, a big floor lamp, or another main source of light in your chosen yoga room. Use these accent lights day in and day out for other purposes, or reserve them just for yoga time, so it signals the transition from work to yoga in your mind.
• Color lights: Color can have a great influence on the mindset you want to have going into yoga, but there’s no need to repaint your walls. LED or laser light bulbs are a simple, one-step way to change the color of the room. Simply screw in the color bulb of your choice and use your lamp as usual. When you’re done, change the bulb back once more.
• Salt lamps: These spa favorites are the perfect accent lamp for any room. When you flip the switch, a salt lamp gives off a beautiful, low-light glow that’s just enough to see what’s around you. Not to mention, the gorgeous pink-white hue of a salt lamp elevates your decor, feeling closer to a yoga room than a spare bedroom or den.

Creating a yoga space at home with the right lighting

Now that you have your home yoga area all set up, you can use the special space for more than yoga. A space like this works for meditation, art, or just some alone time. When it comes time to begin your practice or just take a few minutes to yourself, flip on your ambient lighting, galaxy light, or special color bulb from BlissLights as the day’s worries drift away with every yoga pose.