Creating a Place for Yoga at home

So I have been practicing yoga for six years now, mostly with my yoga teacher in our bi-weekly classes. I try to practice more often than that, either at other classes or at home, but I always have a hard time creating a meaningful home practice.

I will throw my yoga mat down in the bedroom or living room and go through my stretches and sun salutations but somehow it just feels like exercise; I can rarely capture the feeling of calm and balance that I get when I'm at class.  We were talking about this a few weeks ago in class. I explained I can't escape all the worries of the day, what needs to be done around the house, etc etc but when I come to class, I can leave that at the door.  So my yoga teacher mentioned that in the beginning of class, we always have a ritual; we light candles in her himalayan salt rock candle holder and chant om.  This ritual help bring us from our daily life into our yoga life.  She suggested I create some special space at home, where I can create a ritual to transform it from the everyday to my 'yoga place'.

This idea has been sitting in the back of my mind for a few weeks, where most good ideas bounce around for awhile before I actually do anything with them, and then yesterday my husband and I decided to pop into a thrift store.  And there, sitting between ceramic Easter bunnies and 70's glassware, was my Buddha.

How extraordinary is life sometimes. In the strangest places we can find such wonderful things.  So my Buddha shrine came home with me, and now sits proudly on my dresser, ready to turn my bedroom into my "yoga place".
This morning I lit the candle, put my hands to my heart in prayer pose, said Om, and had the best home yoga practice I've had in months.
It is just wonderful that I can 'create' a place in my house, where for a moment, I can let go the worries of the day and recharge with calm and balanced energy.  Then I can blow out the candle, turn on the lights, and get back to the crazy.