*Originally published on Feb. 3, 2018. Updated on Feb. 18, 2018.
As much as we all hate to admit it, music is sometimes just not enough to help influence a calm mind and a relaxing atmosphere. Consider yoga room decor as a way to invest in the quality of your meditation, yoga, and overall experience. Besides, without a well put together yoga room or calming section of your home, a beginner (one who’s new to the idea of meditation) may not fall “head over heels” for it. Worst yet, beginners may not understand the value of yoga or meditation without a good first impression of the experience. It’s only smart to prepare as best you can before expecting the best experience during yoga or meditation. Small improvements to detail can go a long way.
I always like to keep in mind the goal to surround myself with positive people.
I think this idea can be applied to our home decor, because each piece of art can be a reminder of something. And in this case, each piece I list below can be a reminder of the culture around yoga, meditation, and relaxation.
1. Wall Hangings
One of the simplest and easiest actions you can take is to hang up some earthly or interesting wall hangings around the surrounding of your meditation space. Art and architectural design have been long-standing traditions for a reason – depending on the balance of a space, differing “feelings” can spawn such as a sense of ease or even anxiety (if an artist is purposely going for anxiety). Of course, what we’re doing here isn’t culturally significant on a historical level, BUT little details to help influence the right mind can make a world of difference to ourselves as individuals.
Wall hangings can include tapestries, artistically woven rugs or quilts, paintings or visual artworks, or sometimes it can be as simple as a change in paint color (or a difference in color). Obviously, one of the biggest factors to consider when improving your atmosphere for meditation is to add earthly tones or even earthly materials: wood, grass, rope/twine, cloth, or maybe even a contemporary acrylic work of art (or even matte iron!).
Click for more ideas on wrought iron wall decor!
I would not recommend shiny materials, text-heavy items, plastic, mirrors, or anything that could distract from a calm tone (in other words, you don’t want colors or materials to be too “loud”). It is also important to make sure every wall has a purpose, because without a purpose, it becomes a distraction from the overall purpose of the space.
Click to view on Amazon!
2. Floor Additions
Floor additions refer to mats, rugs, and other accessories that don’t take up the room but enhance it. One of the best ways to improve the floor of a yoga space is to install a wooden floor – most of the time this is a dream for a better financially stable future, so the easiest way to improve the atmosphere is to add a woven or printed rug. There are many options for rugs, but as you shop around, please make sure it is large enough. You wouldn’t want your back foot to hit a different material flooring while doing a trikonasana pose.
A great compromise for flooring is foam tiles with a wood print! Don’t get boring mono-colored foam tiles – there’s imitation wood options to go beneath your feet that don’t even have splinters! Very excited to have found this – here are two I would recommend: light colored wood and dark colored wood.
Click to view on Amazon!
Click to view on Amazon!
To emphasis my point in the importance of improving the “feel” of a room, look at the picture below. Even a room that is not normally used for yoga or meditation can be greatly improved to encourage a calm and peaceful mind just be adding a rug and a few other items (not to mention to real wood beneath it offers an earthly feel).
Click to view options on Amazon!
3. Useful Additions
Shelving is useful in that an average rectangular room will be given some characteristics. Parallel walls are the worst nightmare because it can sometimes feel like a prison! Your mind can not wander freely if the walls are binding you into a confined space.
Wall mounts for holding yoga mats is another way to highlight related equipment while also adding to the room’s dimensional characteristic. The point is to distract the eye from the flatness of walls to allow the flow of a room to have a direction or shape. Consider the earthly, wooden yoga mat hanger in the image below. There are other options for wall mounts as well.
Click to view this item’s price on Amazon!
Add pillows! Pillows cannot only distract from an angular, 90-degree box (or room), but also offers comfortable seating and extra tools for yoga poses or stretches. Consider a meditation pillow as an investment for decor as well as for meditation.
Click to view the price of this item on Amazon!
4. Aromatherapy
An inexpensive and easy way to improve any space is make things smell inviting. I grew up with a mother who experimented with candles when I was around 8 and she would always buy vanilla scented candles. I used to love coming home from school because due to the candles, it always smelled like cookies!
I wouldn’t recommend hunger inducing candles! But there are some pretty amazing finds out there. One of my FAVORITE candles are these new concept candles from “The Woods” company. I know I know, this sounds like an ad, but please hear me out.
The first time I lit a WoodWick candle, I instantly fell in love (and I haven’t looked back). These candles burn an extra 10 – 26 hours (compared to traditional candles) and most importantly they come with a natural wood wick that provides a pleasant crackling sound as it burns!
Click photo to read my extended article about WoodWick candles!
I love these candles so much that I wrote an entire article on them. Yes – I know I’m a nerd, but at least I’m already married, right? It’s time I let my inner nerd SHINE.
The other amazing find I’ve recently stumbled upon in the last few months are Himalayan pink salt lamps – the newest fad in homeopathic, passive salt therapy. Trends like these are always questionable, but after researching over 20 articles, I’ve really come to love the idea of having air filtration and aid against EM radiation from a beautifully pure Himalayan pink salt lamp. I’ve just recently ordered a 9-pound lamp that I’m SO excited about after falling in love with my mini-USB lamp.
5. Furniture
One of the coolest ideas for adding to a room’s “feng shui” are hammock seats! With some time investment and an easy DIY installation, you can add a wonderfully enclosing space to sit and relax. Dogs are known to feel most comfortable in an enclosed space, especially for naps, so let’s follow their instinctual needs and find some warm, enclosing spaces to rest our own stressed out minds.
Another quick solution to a dingy space is wooden furniture and if you attempt to save space at the same time (a popular trend is to save space) you can really take advantage of your meditation space.
One of the coolest ways to save space and add to the general “feel,” while also providing more seating areas is to bring in a wooden bench with storage space! Real wood is also durable and can last the entire lifetime of your meditation room (don’t ever count on “IKEA” wood to last much longer than a few years – trust me). Below is a great example of this idea:
Click to view the price of this item on Amazon!
There are many DIY projects to create pallet bookshelves where you can store yoga or meditation equipment in a classy and natural way. As I said before, wood is a great addition to an earthly feel in your meditation room and recycled pallet would add that rustic, aged look for some characteristic.
Woods and metal are also very popular right now – conveniently, it is also very strong material. Below is an example of a wooden shelf held together by matte metal:
Click to view the price of this item on Amazon!
Rugged edges and little parallelism in a room will allow for a natural feel and can instantly improve the atmosphere of your yoga room.
Calming space: yoga and meditation are good learning tools (Image: Rex)
Conclusion
With a small budget, little additions to your yoga room can greatly enhance your mood when entering your space. Much like going to a library or a gym, a space with a purpose can truly help inspire and influence the experience of yoga or meditation. Even if you’re considering altering your lifestyle by adding yoga or meditation to your daily routine, small additions will help encourage your mind to really participate in this new activity.
I hope this article helps open the doors to some new possibilities in improving your yoga room decor or meditation space. With our stressful lives and fast-paced schedules, even 5 or 10 minutes of slow breathing in an inspiring space can do wonders. Many entrepreneurial guides, podcasts, and experts highly recommend taking time for yourself and by investing in a space by adding a few enhancing decor items (or even DIY creations), your 5 to 10 minutes can do twice as much for your mind.
It’s Important, Trust Me
Compare your meditation or yoga space to a car. A low-quality car can, of course, take you from A to B, but a comfortable and customized sports car with lumbar support and Bose speakers will make A to B seem like a blessing (versus a chore). It’s something to think about as you increase your investment in yourself and your health.
You are essentially “teaching” yourself to love meditation (or for teachers, you are educating your students the importance of continued practice). Everything you do to improve this experience is a worthwhile investment (don’t let yourself believe anything else).
A great source for inspiration collections to help improve your atmosphere can be found on BuddhaGroove.com – if you have heard of them, feel free to check out my article reviewing their value to our little community. Read here.
I would really recommend a salt lamp – I know they seem gimmicky, but they really do help improve mood, sleep and counteract electronic blue light. There are a lot of fakes online, so I’ve done quite a bit of research to aid you in handling your salt lamp shopping – read more about HPS lamps here.
Best of luck in all your meditation, yoga, and massage endeavors! Continue researching and never stop improving your place of peace and quiet. Take time for yourself!
Thanks for reading,
Chase Chandler
Feb, 2018
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