Guest Author - Martha McKinnon

Yoga Journal magazine has published its first special interest publication, the 2009 Complete Guide to Home Practice, a 120 page compendium of articles on the basics of yoga, with several home practice sequences by many nationally recognized yoga teachers. Editor-in-Chief, Kaitlin Quistgaard, refers to it as a yoga cookbook with lots of ingredients and recipes so you can practice on your own at home.

Practicing at home on your own has lots of advantages - you can practice when you want, in a way that you want, for as long as you want. You have unlimited flexibility with a home yoga practice and The Guide to Home Practice has lots of information to help you get started.

The Guide to Home Practice begins with an introduction to practicing at home with three different 15 to 20 minute suggested sequences - one for morning, one for evening, and one for midday. The next section covers warming up with a thorough article on downward facing dog and a home practice sequence for doing sun salutations.

Standing poses are then explored. In depth information about tree pose, extended hand-to-big-toe pose, half moon pose and warrior II, is followed by a home practice sequence for finding balance that includes all these poses along with downward facing dog, cobra, warrior III, eagle and side plank.

The Guide to Home Practice then moves on to cover backbends with an article on the importance of working within your limits and without struggle when doing backbends. The article reminds us that the goal is not achievement of some perfect form, but of finding a pose that is stable and comfortable of us. Next is an article on Bow Pose and its ability to help alleviate tight rounded shoulders and then a home practice sequence on backbends designed by Rodney Yee.

Creative yoga poses designed to help build abdominal and core strength are explored in the subsequent section. Increased core strength can have a tremendous effect on your overall yoga practice, making once difficult poses, relatively easy. The topic of inversions starts with a Beginners Guide to Headstands and Handstands, that provides thorough instructions for executing these poses safely, as well as a home practice sequence designed to build the strength necessary to execute them.

Twists are the next topic of discussion and exploration with an excellent home practice sequence designed to help you realize the benefits of these poses, which include energizing the spine, balancing the nervous system, and detoxifying internal organs. The Guide then moves on to forward bends with a detailed review of head-to-knee pose (janu sirsasana) and a home practice series designed by Yin Yoga expert, Sarah Powers.

In the relaxation section, respected yoga teacher and restorative yoga pioneer, Judith Hanson Lassater, provides a restorative yoga sequence you can use at home to relax and re-energize in times of stress. Props such as pillows, blankets, blocks, and bolsters are required for the restorative yoga practice sequence. The Guide to Home Practice concludes with a meditation introduction - all the basic information and guidance you need begin meditating at home.

Yoga Journal's Guide to Home Practice is a useful resource for those whose New Year's resolution includes beginning or continuing to develop a home practice. You can find it on newsstands now.