The Power of Being Alone-Solo Yoga Practice August 3 2025

Reading - Favorite Solo Activity

My husband and I were talking about couples that seem to do everything together; travel, relax, socialize, etc. My husband jokingly said, “Well we know that it is not you, honey”. I admit, I relish the rare times I find myself in our house alone without chores or commitment. I love solo walks, beach time, dining at a bar or coffee shop, exercising or practicing yoga. Once I told Pete that I would love to go to a cabin or beach cottage alone with a stack of books, my sneakers, yoga mat and lots of salad! Thirty years ago, he didn’t get it, now he does.

This is not to say that I do not love the company of my husband, friends and family. I have always been very sociable. During the pandemic, however, I recognized in myself the love of quiet solitude, alone time and turning myself off. Years of a customer focused career in a public company helped sustain my belief that I was an extrovert. Only when I took time to shut it down, and with the lens of retirement, have I come to terms with my side that craves solitude. I have realized the restorative power of stepping away, recharging, spending time just with me and my thoughts and meditations – or a good book. The whole conversation made me think about the power of alone time.

Being alone is completely different from loneliness. Loneliness is not a place of choice and is a serious topic, but not what I am contemplating here. This is about a conscious decision to spend time alone, to recharge and revel in what brings you solo joy.  This time helps us find comfort in our own skin. The time helps relax our mind, rest our brain, and helps us calmly process thoughts and feelings.

The science around spending time alone tells us that it can help build empathy as we step away from our circle (what I think of as my people or like thinkers). Solitude can increase productivity and build mental strength. Possibly most importantly, it helps us understand ourselves better. As we take this time, we are practicing self-care.

I suggest consciously setting the time aside and truly disconnecting (no phones, people, etc.)  Choose to do something that you truly love. For me it is walking in nature, practicing yoga or cooking, alone with my thoughts and ruminations. I find that this practice reduces stress and improves my mood almost every time. I do some of my best creative thinking during these times and must resist reaching for my phone to write those ideas down! I also find these times help me problem solve in a productive way, hopefully reduces some of those nights of unproductive perseverating, tossing and turning. Paradoxically, it improves my relationships. Stepping away I find I have something interesting to share and am always in a more relaxed and peaceful mood when I reconnect with my friends and family.

Practicing Alone Outside

This brings me, happily, to the idea of a solo yoga practice. While I absolutely love the power of a community class, the energy, the learning opportunities and the camaraderie, there is something special about a solo practice, no video or recording, just practicing from your mind and doing what your body is calling for.  Practicing alone allows us to practice at our own pace, stopping to try a pose or adjustment multiple times rather than thinking about staying in time with the class. We also get to ensure that we do the poses that we love or that our body needs. Meditation happens as we listen to where our body sends us, and we let go of any expectation or need to pay attention to an instructor. If jumping straight in without a plan does not appeal to you, jot yourself a little note before you start of several poses that you love and want to include. Maybe roll your mat out in front of a beautiful view or in the shade of a tree or at the beach at sunrise. Solo practice is certainly one way to enhance your existing practice as well as help you celebrate and experience the power of alone time!

Our Practice - Suggested Poses For a 15 Minute Solo Practice

Here are some suggestions for a 15 minute practice to jump start your solo effort!

1. Child Pose - Settle in and breathe, settle your hips down on your ankles and just be

2. Cat and Cow Pose 3 rounds

3. Down Dog - maybe flow to plank and back a few times or pedal

4. Side Bends - Clasp hands overhead and stretch side to side for 3 times

   
   

   Starting with Pose 5-11 begins a flow, do on Right Side then begin again with chair pose (5) and do the left side

5. Chair Pose - hold 3-5 breaths

6. Forward Fold - interlace hands behind back and fold

7. Low Lunge Twist

8. Warrior 2

9. Wide Legged Forward Fold

10. Fallen Triangle or another Low Lunge Twist

11. Lizard Pose

12. Low Plank - Lower Down

13. Locust (2 times)

14. Happy Baby

15. Savasana

Meditating On Alone Time

Walking Alone Rose Island

“Solitude is very different from a ’time-out’ from our busy lives. Solitude is the very ground from which community grows. Whenever we pray alone, study, read, write, or simply spend quiet time away from the places where we interact with each other directly, we are potentially opened for a deeper intimacy with each other.”—Henri J.M. Nouwen

"Yoga is not a work-out, it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice; to make us teachable; to open up our hearts and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are."- Rolf Gates

See you on the mat!

Namaste,

Julia Anne