A Hatha yoga position: perhaps not one to attempt if you're a beginner...

Over-indulged on Christmas dinner? Had a few too many cocktails at New Year’s parties? Want to fight the festive bulge, but can’t quite face the gym? Yes, yes and yes? Then read on and find out how you can detox and tone up from the comfort of your own home, for free!

Yoga originated in India, as a meditation practice. There are many different kinds of yoga, but the one best known in the West, with its static positions, is Hatha Yoga. Yoga can involve all aspects of your lifestyle including meditation, physical exercise and eating habits. To fully benefit from yoga, it is believed that you should consume largely uncooked food, very little meat and no alcohol. In this case, however, let’s just focus on the physical exercises…

Preparation

Space: Make sure you have enough space to move freely. You’ll need about a circle with your height as the diameter around you. Some positions require you to sit on your knees. Protect them by making sure you have a thin cushion or folded up towel ready. Other positions might require you to lie down, here’s where a large beach towel or yoga mat come in handy.

Clothing: Yoga involves lots of stretching so be sure that your clothing will allow this. It’s also recommended that you practise yoga bare-footed. This will allow you to ground yourself better in positions which require balance.

Surroundings: It’s preferable to work out in a quiet place, with some natural background sounds. Think birdsong, rolling waves,… anything that will allow you to relax in other words!

Let’s get to it!

Yoga is a physical activity that you can easily do in your own home, and you’ll save money on costly gym memberships too. However if you’re not really sure where to start, look to our selection from youtube to set you off in the right direction.

One of the most crucial elements of yoga is learning to control your breathing – this video shows you the basics; it’s the first in a series of about 20 videos which explain the essential poses to you. Add the entire series to your playlist and you are ready to go!

Gym membership is not required!

We also recommend the YogaToday channel; this includes a huge selection of easy-to-follow videos. If you’re working out when you get home, try the Evening Wind Down or you could try some Energizing Office Yoga. It may be a good idea to inform your colleagues what you’re doing before you roll out the yoga mat… Hitting the slopes? There’s even a Warm-up for Skiers and Snowboarders.

For the advanced yoga bunny, look to an expert: Rodney Yee.  This one’s well worth watching to see what you might eventually achieve (with a few years practice!).

The best thing about yoga is that it is easy to learn; all of the positions have different names, so make sure you note down your favourite ones. Pop on some dreamy music, chilled-out music (we recommend one of the Hotel Costes compilations) and get going, even without your computer!

Half an hour per day will leave you feeling wonderfully stress-free and more toned. Focusing on your breathing will open up your lungs, whilst stretching allows your blood to flow freely through your body, so you will feel more energised. Your muscles will be more relaxed too which will result in better posture.  Some books and websites even claim that yoga can have a positive impact on your sexual abilities. And last but not least: increased strength, flexibility and a slimmed-down tummy will be yours soon!

Don’t forget!

Do make sure that you warm up properly with a few basic stretches and breathe deeply to get the full effects of the positions. Try to do all of the movements in a controlled way, and if one of them is uncomfortable or hurts, just leave it and move on to the next one. It’s also important to drink plenty of water before and after the work out. Let the detox begin!