If you have a designated space in your home where you work on your fitness — or if you’re wanting to carve out more space for this area in your life, this article is for you.

Depending on your body’s needs and your personal interests, there may be specific tools or workouts you like to use and participate in. While I can’t jump into your life to cover all those specifics (are you an avid rock climber? Love rowing? Peloton user?), these ideas are meant to get you thinking differently about the actual space you’re working out in.

Below, you’ll find ways to support your body based on its Environment Variable and how to set up the physical space you work out in based on the room you have available.

I repeat some of these themes across different Environments, but want to encourage you to think about your space in a way that brings in principles from your Human Design Environment. Let’s take a look at how to set up your DREAM Home Gym for your Human Design Environment:

Put mirrors on one side of room

It will be very helpful for your form, environment, and body if you can see yourself. Mirroring a space can make it feel double the size, can brighten it up, provide the ability to perfect your form, and give you something to look into. Mirrors are great to play within any space for a Shores person — but the Home Gym is a hot spot!

Technology integration - smart equipment

Just like the Valleys Person, tech can really come into play in a helpful way in your home gym. Consider how Smart Equipment can create an other-worldly reality or how automated robots can help you keep up with your cleaning cycles. It can help you create another world to get lost in through lighting, music, automation and scheduled programming. A playlist to follow might help you, or virtual reality can give you the feeling of being out in the fresh air across the world.

Recovery area

Consider building in some kind of recovery area or zone into the space. It’s sort of like another mini world to take a break in. You can have a room within a room, or even just a designated space through an arrangement of furniture. Consider how you can have an active and a passive area in the wider picture of the room.

Prioritize natural light or mood lighting

Are there no windows in the space? If so, you better have a killer lighting situation. Having great big windows to let it natural light is an incredibly uplifting feeling for a Shores person. This can be executed through skylights, patio doors, an interesting window space — or it can happen artificially through cool lamps, candles or alternative lighting. I once saw a Shores Person who made their home gym full of blue lights. It was magic.

Try Glass Doors

Using glass doors instead of a wall is a creative way to see into another room. Just like glass patio doors reveal the world outside, this can happen indoors and have the same effect. This can also be a creative way to create privacy and some sound-proofing, while also defining a space and giving you the ability to see into another world inside the home.

Play with an outdoor gym

Is there a way you can get outdoors or create your home gym area in an outdoor setting? Experimenting with an earth gym or land gym and using the literal elements outside can be a very simple way to connect with your body while getting into a totally different world… right outside your back door!

A second room

Is there a way you can define the space you’re working with and create another world within it? Sometimes this can be done with an equipment room or a stretching room, or it can be a shower and bathroom built into the space. Play with having two distinct spaces with different activities that happen within them. You can even define this by your workout equipment!

Keep it spacious

No matter what amount of space you’re working with, keep the arrangement and mood spacious around you. Consider how you can make the space feel bigger or taller or wider. Have fun manipulating the space or playing with what’s available to you.