5 Considerations for Choosing Your Home Yoga Practice Wardrobe

You might imagine that one of the benefits of practicing at home is that it does not matter what you wear. Surprisingly, you will likely find that it does. Slipping into our practice clothes initiates the ritual of meeting ourselves. Different costumes satiate different needs of our senses, meet changing demands of functionality, and can even spark or deaden joy. So, in choosing what to wear, choose what pleases your senses the most. Drawing inward can be easier if the external realm is sorted.

1. Tactile
How we feel in our clothing matters and, therefore, how our clothing feels matters. Depending on the conditions and context of your practice you might choose clothes that are thin and breezy, cozy and snuggly, loose, or supportive. If you are choosing more active dynamic practices, you will want the clothes to breathe with you. If you are choosing slower stiller practices, warmth will matter. These practices are designed to encourage us to touch deep within ourselves. Beginning with how your costume feels against your skin is completely correct.

2. Visual
Even if you do not have a mirror you will be visually aware of yourself practicing. Do you want to see your body as you practice? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. My body has changed a lot since I started practicing over 20 years ago, and parts that used to stay in place, now seem to get in the way, especially when I turn upside down. I do not always want to be distracted by my vanity, though at other times my pettiness can be a useful doorway into my own vulnerability.
3. Olfactory
If your clothes are stinky, your practice will feel stinky. I suggest pulling out a clean fresh costume.
4. Audible
Do you remember the swish-swish-swish of your corduroys rubbing together as a little kid? Clothes have an audible content. Choose quieter or nosier ones as is fun for you.
5. Taste
While there are certain poses that will have your face mashed into and therefore potentially tasting your garments, what I’m actually suggesting here is that you make sure you are wearing something that is consistent with your current tastes, the current vibration of you. Old clothes with old vibrations can hold you back as they are riddled with emotional content and associations. Choose an outfit that suits you right now and is closely aligned with who you are choosing to be.

Lately, my personal favorite costume for home practices is a pair of snuggly organic cotton short shorts from Patagonia that I would never wear out of the house, and a tight cotton Merona tank from Target. If you feel brave, send us a picture of your home yoga practice outfit with you in it!