When it comes to our home yoga practice, there are certainly seasonal shifts. No one can deny that it’s harder to fit a morning practice when it’s cold and dark.

However, now the days are longer and the nights are shorter. There is more light, more warmth (sporadically – this is the UK after all), and it’s time to get back to business. So here are my TOP TEN tips for how to infuse your yoga practice with the energy of spring.

1. Rise with the Lark

One of the best ways to take advantage of all this extra light is to get up earlier. Although it can feel like every extra second in bed counts, that precious time in the early morning can be a really productive window. By setting the alarm just 20 minutes earlier you can fit in a quick yoga sequence as the birds sing their dawn chorus (well maybe not quite that early…).

2. Increase Your Practice Time

If you’ve got an established home practice then spring is the time to ask yourself whether you’re really getting the most out of it. Have you got into a rut of squeezing in a quick session without getting into the nitty-gritty? Use the positive growth energy of spring to deepen your practice by making it longer and more thorough.

3. Go for a Dream Pose

Spring into action by setting your sights on a dream pose - such as a pose that I’ve been teaching in my classes this week - handstand (or Adho Mukha Vrksasana). Poses like handstand require regular practice on your own to really master. Start by deconstructing the elements of the pose and work on each part, for example, practicing Downward dog and Uttanasana to lengthen the hamstrings, and then practice getting the lift of the hips by stepping up onto a chair or blocks from Downward dog.

4. Try New Things

Despite how wonderful yoga is, like anything that we do a lot of, we can start to lose some of our enthusiasm for the subject. If you’ve never been to a yoga workshop, why not make this spring a first (try my ‘Free the Shoulders’ workshop coming up this May).

5. Take Action

Spring is the time to make decisions you’ve been putting off and then DO something about those decisions! Have you wanted to start a home practice but never had the confidence? A lot of students say they’re just not quite sure where to start. Start with three poses. Repeat them all three times. Feel the difference. Go from there.

6. Spring Clean Your Yoga

You’ve gone out into the garden (or balcony) and cleared out all the winter detritus that builds up, spring-cleaned the house (opened the windows at least) and now it’s time to do the same for your yoga. Spring cleaning your yoga means letting go of old habits and embracing new goals. Or sometimes just finding that pose that you hate and giving it a good old dose of attention – it’s often the ones you don’t like that are the ones you need to practice.

7. Spring Clean Your Body

Once you’ve polished off your kids’ eggs in a late-night cupboard raid, it’s time to tune into your body to work out what’s best for summer. According to yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda, in the warmer, lighter months the body doesn’t need as much heavy food. So why not try whole grains, salads and lighter proteins such as fish.

8. Get Organised

Once you’ve made decisions, spring cleaned and tried new things, it’s time to get organised with your yoga. Do you have so many good intentions that fall by the wayside as obstacle after obstacle seems to block your path to your yoga? Life is busy and there are so many demands on us, but, by getting organised, we can build a routine that supports and makes space for our yoga practice.

So, sit down with your diary and put your yoga practice sessions into the diary, in indelible ink. Then once you’ve got your time slots, decide what you’re going to practice in each slot. You might want to put in a restorative practice if you know you’ve got a busy time coming up. Be specific.

9. Jump for Joy

There’s something about springing into the air on your two feet that makes you feel like a newborn lamb gallivanting in the fields. In Iyengar yoga we don’t do lots of jumping, but there are ways to add more movement into your home practice. (Just bear in mind that if you have a back or knee injury jumping may not be the best idea).

Try adding a few extra jumps when going from Tradasana into standing poses, or, from Downward Dog to Uttanasana. Or just add a few jumps in Tadasana at the start of your practice.

10. Be Positive

Spring is a time to be a glass-half-full person. The natural world is blooming and singing with zingy, green colours. Put your darker woollies to the back of your drawers and wear your brightest clothes. Make a list of what makes you happy at the end of each day. Choose a Sankalpa (intention) in your extra early morning slot and decide to be your happiest self today.