Bess' fav yoga clothing!

So we all know you can practice yoga in anything comfy. But after 20+ years of near-daily fieldwork I have discovered that not many things are properly comfy and practical for practicing all the weird and wonderful things that make up an āsana class - from comfy prāṇāyāma to things staying in place in handstand. And especially when filming I don't want to have to adjust my clothes. Good clothing allows you to focus completely on the practice - I'm sure there are enough mental distractions without you haven't to worry about pulling your tights up every time you stand up in tadāsana. Plus I just have some weird and personal preferences that I'm sure you all can't wait to hear about. So here are my favourite things to wear for the style I generally practice and teach: fairly challenging vinyāsa yoga. 

nb. this is not a sponsored post although one time Lindner Socks did send me free socks because I raved about them so much and now I am a #sockfluencer. 

TIGHTS

I'm not a big fan of multi-national corporations in general, and will usually buy local, but I am yet to find an ethical Australian brand making yoga tights that perform (and I have tried plenty). I usually wear only natural fibres but they just don't hold their shape in tights. So despite my ethical objections I still buy leggings and shorts from Lululemon. My disclaimer is that they're so good I don't have to buy them often, at a maximum I'll buy one pair of tights and one pair of shorts each year to replace ones from five years ago that are done - and even then it's only because I want them to look immaculate for filming and teaching, if they're just for practice I would keep wearing old ones. They last for ages, don't lose stretch, don't fade, don't pill too much (wash them in a bra bag on cold and hang to dry), and stay put when I'm practicing. I get Wunder Under high rise tights and Align shorts 6 inch. Weird side note that my legs feel suffocated in tights so I much prefer shorts + woolly socks unless it's REALLY cold and if I have to wear tights I change out of them asap so my legs can breathe. 

TOPS + BRAS + Gs

I hate wearing anything tight up top (how does anyone breathe in sports bras I have no idea) so I'm always in gentle cotton bras (love these from Jungmaven that I buy from my favourite Byron shop, East Coast General) and loose cotton t-shirts that I tuck into my pants (faves are men's tees from Bassike or Jac&Jack - I mostly find women's tees annoying and not just because I'm married to a woman, they're either too short to tuck, or they have embellishments or weird design elements, or they're tight under the armpits, give me simplicity!!! and I go for lighter cotton over linen). But I do have to re-tuck a t-shirt a bit. If it's hot, practicing without the t-shirt works better! But I'm not really into lying on a mat when I'm sweaty without a tshirt!!! Especially a rental mat!!! Otherwise snug cotton singlets, I'm currently wearing to death three of the same singlets I bought in different colours from Scanlan & Theodore, they're not cheap but super good quality and I don't have to wear a bra so I figure that's saving money on bras 🤣 . I also love my crop singlet from Aussie brand Nu Form Movement (I'm wearing it in the blog photo) again because I don't have to wear a bra, and they're a great company focused on sustainability. I find their bras too tight (better for running than yoga) and I haven't tried their shorts but I'm keen to. While we're at it the Clemence thong from Bendon is the ONLY thing I can tolerate under yoga tights:  they're cotton and very light, no visible panty line. They're not super durable but they'll last longer if you wash them in a bra bag and hang to dry. 

Wishing you happy and comfy yoga-ing! 

Bess x