Many people come to home yoga after trying group classes: the beautiful studio, the teacher with a microphone, twenty mats in a row. And there is nothing wrong with that. But there is something those classes simply cannot give you, and that is the feeling that the entire session was designed for you, for your body today, for what you are going through this week.
When I arrive at your home in Brussels, I do not bring a sequence prepared in advance. I bring tools, experience, and complete attention. That is what makes a private class a truly private class.
Before I arrive: what to prepare
The question I hear most before the first class is: "Do I need to have anything special?" The short answer is no. The fuller answer is this:
You need a space of roughly two metres by two metres, free of furniture. It does not have to be perfect. The living room with the sofa pushed aside, the bedroom with the bed moved over, a study if the floor is clear -- any of those options works well. What we need is for you to be able to lie down with your arms extended without touching anything, and to take a step to each side.
As for clothing, wear whatever is most comfortable. Leggings, joggers, a T-shirt that does not ride up when you stretch your arms. There is no need for branded yoga wear. The body does not read labels; it reads freedom of movement.
That is all. I bring everything else.
The first ten minutes: the opening conversation
Before a single hand touches the mat, we sit down together. This is what surprises people most when they come from studio yoga: we start by talking.
It is not a formal interview or a questionnaire. It is a real conversation. I ask how your week has been, how your body feels today, whether you have slept well, whether something is weighing on you, whether there is an area of tension you have been noticing for days. I also ask what you want from this class: whether you want to sweat, to calm down, to build strength, or simply to clear your head.
Those ten minutes are the most important part of the session. They are what allow me to build the class you need today, not the one you needed last week or the one you will need next.
The class itself: four parts that feel like one
A 75-minute private yoga class at home has four parts that flow into one another naturally. They are not separate blocks but a journey with its own rhythm and logic.
Warm-up: waking the body from within
We always begin slowly. The body needs to be invited, not launched. We start with gentle joint movements, most of them seated or lying down, to bring circulation to the areas that have been still: hips, spine, shoulders, feet.
What we work on in this phase:
Spinal and hip joint mobility. Conscious breathing to shift from mental mode to body mode. A gentle activation of the core, without any abrupt effort. Orientation: we begin to listen to what the body is saying today.
If you have a sensitive area -- a knee that has been complaining for months or a lower back that tightens when you twist -- this is where I notice it and begin to adapt what comes next.
Main practice: kriya or hatha sequence
Depending on what you shared in the opening conversation, we work with a Kundalini Yoga kriya or an adapted hatha sequence. If you need energy and clarity, a kriya. If you need to release accumulated tension and restore the body, a slower, more sustained hatha sequence.
What this phase can include:
Standing postures to work the legs, glutes, and balance. Spinal flexions to relieve the lower and mid back. Hip-opening postures, where a great deal of emotional tension is held. Arm and shoulder strength work adapted to your level. Gentle twists to stimulate digestion and decompress the spine.
What never changes, whatever practice we choose, is that I adjust each posture to your body in real time. If something does not feel right, we modify it. If something feels especially good, we stay there longer.
Pranayama and meditation: the practice that transforms most
This is the part most people did not expect and that always ends up being their favourite. We spend ten to fifteen minutes on a pranayama technique, which is conscious work with the breath, followed by a short meditation adapted to what we are working on that day.
Some techniques we often use:
Alternate nostril breathing to balance the nervous system and calm the mind. A gentle breath of fire to build energy and release the day's emotional residue. Mantra meditation for those who want to explore the subtler dimension. Sensation-awareness meditation for those who prefer a more somatic approach.
You do not need to have meditated before. I start from wherever you are, and that includes a mind that will not stop and a person who has never closed their eyes for more than thirty seconds without feeling strange.
Final relaxation: Savasana, the gift that cannot be skipped
Savasana is the final relaxation posture: lying on your back, still, doing nothing. It is the most important posture in the entire practice and the one most people tend to skip when they practise on their own. Here, we do not skip it.
Why it matters so much:
It is the moment when the nervous system integrates everything it has received during the class. It is when the body consolidates the changes it has made. It is when the practice moves from the muscles into something deeper. Without Savasana, it is like studying for an hour and then not sleeping: the information does not settle.
We usually finish with a brief closing conversation: how you felt, what you noticed, any questions you have. That moment of integration is also part of the class.
"In a group class, I adapt the practice to the group. In a private class, I adapt the practice to you. These are two completely different experiences, and both have their place. But when someone needs yoga to truly reach where it hurts, the private class is what works."
Luisa ConversAfter the class: what is normal to feel
The most common question at the end is "Is it normal that I feel this way?" The answer is almost always yes.
It is normal to feel a gentle tiredness, different from the tiredness of stress: cleaner, quieter. It is normal for the body to feel, in the first few hours, something like having cried, even if you have not. Yoga releases tensions that have sometimes been lodged for weeks or months, and the body processes them in its own way.
It is also normal to feel particularly clear mentally. Many students write to me that same afternoon saying they were more productive than they had been all week. The practice brings order to the nervous system, and that shows up in your capacity to concentrate.
If the following day you notice that certain muscles are more sensitive, especially in the hips, inner thighs, or upper back, that is a good sign: we reached areas that were not receiving attention. It is not damage; it is activation. It passes in two or three days.
What is not normal, and what you can write to me about if it happens, is sharp joint pain during the practice or pain that persists for more than four days afterwards. That should not happen, and if it does I want to know.
Questions I am always asked before the first class
I do not have a yoga mat -- can I still do a class? Yes. I bring an extra mat. If you decide afterwards that you want your own, I will help you choose one.
I have not exercised in months -- is yoga too difficult? Private yoga adapts to you, not the other way around. There is no minimum level. The only requirement is wanting to be in your body.
Do I need to be flexible? No. Flexibility is a result of yoga, not a starting point. Nobody is born flexible: the body learns.
Can I do yoga if I have back problems? Many of my students started precisely because of a back issue. Tell me in the opening conversation and we will design the class with that in mind.
How many classes do I need before I notice a difference? Most people notice something from the very first session. But the real change, the one that stays, comes with regular practice. Three or four weeks of weekly classes already make a clear difference in the body and in mental state.
Which areas of Brussels do you travel to? I work across the whole city and surroundings: Ixelles, Saint-Gilles, Etterbeek, Uccle, Woluwe, Schaerbeek, Forest, Anderlecht. If you are not sure whether I come to your neighbourhood, write to me and we will figure it out.
You do not need to have anything. I bring all the equipment needed for a complete class:
- A professional non-slip yoga mat
- Two yoga blocks to adapt postures and provide support
- A strap for postures that require greater reach
- A blanket for the final relaxation and floor work
- A FeetUp support for gentle inversions, if you request it and it is right for you
If you already have some of this equipment at home, we use it. If you have nothing, no problem. The class works just as well.
Practising yoga in your own space has something a studio cannot replicate: you are in your own environment. Your scent, your temperature, your silence or your background sounds. The body lets its guard down differently when it is at home. And when the body lets its guard down, the yoga goes deeper.
If you feel this might be for you, you can find all the details about the first class on the yoga at home in Brussels page.