‘Finding Balance’, by Alice
Balance is at the heart of yoga: the meeting point between effort and ease, movement and stillness, yin and yang, giving and receiving. Today, another kind of balance is asking for our attention too — how to keep practicing at home while also finding our way back into the studio.
Many students have asked how to maintain a regular, affordable practice while keeping some sense of normal life. How do we find the right rhythm between the online and offline worlds?
Yoga asks for steady commitment: to show up, to be present, and to keep learning. Over recent months, that consistency has had to be created without the familiar structure of the studio walls. Yet with live and pre-recorded classes so accessible, regular practice has become more possible than ever. Some of you may even have created a small, meaningful space at home that feels like a personal sanctuary.
We have loved seeing your yoga spaces shared with cats, dogs, children, and partners — sometimes opening them up to family members who once found the idea unfamiliar. Many of you have discovered the freedom to try new things without feeling pressure to keep up with others, or to rest when your body needed it. There is something deeply comforting about stepping off the mat and straight into bed after a Slow class, or practicing in the quiet of your own home. These moments can become healthy rituals, or samskaras, that support us as life continues to shift.
Of course, home practice has its challenges. Distractions can feel louder than ever — from household chores waiting to be done to the books on the shelf that suddenly demand attention. And perhaps the biggest difference is the absence of other bodies in the room, whose energy can carry you when your own starts to fade.
For many, that is exactly why the studio feels so important. It is a space designed with care and intention for one purpose only: to deepen your practice. There is no clutter, no washing pile, no list of tasks competing for your attention. Time spent traveling to class helps you prepare mentally, and the moments after class allow everything to settle before the rest of the day begins.
In the studio, there are no phones, televisions, children, partners, or animals to pull your focus away from what you are sensing and feeling. You can be more accountable to your practice, supported by the live presence of a teacher offering cues that may not translate through a screen. And of course, the heat — how many of us have missed the heat!
We know that returning to studio practice can require more effort, and that it may mean making different choices about where your priorities lie. Sometimes that shift is exactly what helps us continue caring for ourselves in a way that offers both comfort and growth. It also reminds us to move with changing times, and to accept that change is one of the few constants in life.
So we ask you: could there be more balance between yoga in the studio and yoga at home?
Here is how one of our wonderful LANO students, Jason, has navigated his practice:
“It’s incredible to think that we are approaching six months since lockdown was declared. Prior to that I was attending three studio classes a week, so LANO had become an important part of my weekly routine. Post lockdown, the online sessions not only provided wonderful classes, but also gave a sense of community and connection. I’m still enjoying the variety of yoga that the online classes give me access to, but I really missed being in the studio and was excited when the email came announcing that live classes were back on.
Protecting each other must be our priority and the LANO team have put in measures to make things as safe as possible. I time my arrival to be at the studio about 10 minutes before the start of class and already dressed to go straight in. After a temperature check, it’s shoes off and into the studio through the one-way system. The two rooms in Southsea have now been turned into one big room and the floor is clearly marked to ensure mats are placed well apart from each other.
I’m happy to admit that I was a little nervous returning to my first studio class, but was quickly reassured that things are being made as safe as possible. I now look forward to being back in the studio once a week as well as joining online classes. Thank you to the LANO team for all that you do and to all of you that share your practice either in the studio or online”
And for some, the balance may need to go the other way. If time is short and you cannot make it to class, roll out your mat at work, find a quiet corner, and join online. Or next week, instead of going out for lunch, bring a friend to the studio and enjoy a coffee afterward.