We are lucky to have technology that enables us to take live-at-home yoga classes. As we transition our practice from in-person at the studio to Facebook Live and other live streaming platforms, we may be wondering whether this new format of class will be as good.

Here are three unexpected benefits to doing a live-at-home yoga class:

• Live streaming class at home means we have to establish a space to practice.

This involves a little preparation on our parts mentally and physically. In addition to clearing a physical area, we also require respect from others. Dogs, kids, partners, roommates, calls and texts all are paused while we are in class. Unlike going to the studio and being out of the house, this might mean creating a tangible example for our friends and loved ones about how sacred our practice is.

• Practicing at home is a chance to create our ultimate sanctuary.

We may have heard mantras like “the real yoga starts off the mat” or “beyond the studio doors.” At home, when our instructor invites us to set an intention, it’s a chance to bring yogic mindfulness and movement into our most familiar spaces and create new places of peace.

How often do we hold ourselves to our highest yogi standards in our bedrooms, living rooms, and garages?

Tuning into Facebook Live for class is an opportunity to practice being the yogis we aspire to be. We can explore living our intentions in our daily routine spaces. Instead of abandoning our blissful post-yoga class feelings when we’re stuck in line at the grocery store or when dogs bark and work becomes challenging, taking class at home is an opportunity to practice embodying our calmest, most-balanced, graceful and compassionate yogic selves in concert with the external distractions that make up our lives.

• Taking a live stream class is more authentic than an on demand recording.

Instead of being concentrated in one room in the studio in a traditional practice setting, students taking a live-at-home class are distributed across a larger geographic footprint. It’s incredibly powerful to think of this collective energy when we are physically dispersed. It might even encourage us to feel a stronger sense of unity as we collectively breathe in and exhale, together, across our city.

Just like the first time we step into a new studio, taking a Facebook Live streaming yoga class might stir up some uncertainty about what to expect. Live streaming class is an invitation to grow our practice. It is an opportunity for us to come together, even when we are apart.

Namaste.