20 Reasons To Practice Yoga In The Morning

20 reasons to practice yoga in the morning

Make yoga a part of your morning routine for 21 days and see how it affects your day. Here are twenty-one reasons why…

Our goals and good intentions, such as New Year resolutions, are frequently centered on becoming happier and healthier, more fulfilled, and habit-free. When we give up a habit, however, we frequently leave a gaping vacuum in our lives, which is why quitting smoking, alcohol, sweets, chocolate, meat, or anything else you've decided to give up is so tough; there's nothing to take its place.

There's a reason we form habits in the first place; they're there to help us. Our habits can help us relieve stress or give pleasure, and they can also make us feel good or provide a sense of security. Habits aren't inherently bad; they just don't always help us be our greatest selves….

In with the new, out with the old

In order to let go of unhelpful habits, new ones must be established that bring equivalent mental and physical advantages, which is where yoga practice comes in. Yoga increases the release of endorphins (happy hormones) and makes the body a more physically comfortable place to live, in addition to improving mental clarity and relaxation.

If you commit to doing yoga every morning for 21 days, there's a good chance you'll keep it up (perhaps for the rest of the year?) and you'll thank yourself by the time the following New Year arrives.

1. Make a goal for yourself.

Many yoga sessions give us the opportunity to set an intention for the practise at the start. This could be an intention to treat your body with love if it is fatigued, to practise focusing the mind into quiet, or to move outside your comfort zone to build self-trust and confidence. Whatever it is, this intention has the power to define the rest of your day and provide you with a focus for the hours ahead. It's essentially the same as making a New Year's resolution every morning, but it might be a little easier to stick to for 24 hours rather than 365 days….

2. Give the Sun a Salute
   Surya Namaskar (sun salutations) were traditionally conducted at sunrise to welcome the sun and the start of a new day. We can tap into our own natural rhythms by being conscious of the natural world's patterns and practicing when the sun rises.

Many of us are so consumed by technology and work that we forget we are also part of nature, and this morning routine serves as a reminder of our more natural state.

3. Do not begin stressed…

We all know how it feels to jump out of bed after hitting the snooze button too many times and running around in the morning – our nervous systems certainly do…. Allowing yourself an extra hour or half an hour to wake up and practise in the mornings will help your nervous system to start the day in a much more calm state.Our levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) are already high in the mornings in order to give us the boost we need to wake up. If this level of cortisol is quickly increased with added stress however, we’ve set ourselves up for an equally stressful day. Making the practice of yoga a habit each morning allows the body to get into the habit of switching off the sympathetic ‘fight or flight’ stress response, and instead able to finally tap into the healing benefits of the parasympathetic nervous system – increasing the health of both body and mind immensely.

4. Dismiss the necessity of coffee

Yoga has a unique ability to serve the exact function we require; it may be restorative and blissfully soothing, as well as exciting and energising. Even if you're exhausted when you first get up, a morning yoga practise will make you feel more alert and vibrant. Sun Salutations, backbends, and twists are some of the postures and practises that can help you build energy.

5. Raise your army.

When our blood flow and lymphatic system are well-circulated, our disease-fighting white blood cells can do their greatest work. We effectively 'wake up' all of the body's systems by exercising in a way that feels pleasant first thing in the morning, which improves circulation and gives the immune system an immediate boost. Gentle inversions, such as Viparita Karani (legs up the wall position), are particularly beneficial for activating the immune system, so include these in your winter morning practise.

6. Be cheerful

One of the most beneficial reasons to practise yoga in the mornings is that it boosts your mood in addition to improving your circulation and immune system. In a study undertaken by the Yoga Biomedical Trust in London, 94 percent of participants with anxiety reported considerable advantages from practising yoga every morning, while 82 percent of those with sleeplessness also reported significant benefits.

7. Me-time

It might be tough to feel like you've had any time to yourself, especially if you're a parent or your job requires you to manage or look after people. That extra time in the morning is a means of demonstrating to yourself that you care about others as well as yourself. In order to give our energy out into the world, we must first have enough within ourselves. A morning yoga practise, whether for five minutes or an hour, is a way to know you've done something for yourself that day.

8. Stop procrastinating.

If you're the sort who makes a New Year's goal to be healthy but never follows through, this is one of the greatest methods to get started. Making your morning yoga practise the first item on your to-do list ensures that you will do it first and will not feel terrible for not practising that day. Getting things done early in the day is also a terrific approach to boost confidence and self-esteem. It takes some discipline at first, but as Aristotle remarked, "Freedom comes through discipline."

9. Meditate to clear your mind

A morning yoga practise doesn't have to be all about the poses; meditating is a yoga practise with endless benefits, and even a few minutes to start your day can have dramatic consequences in a short amount of time. At the start of the day, becoming aware of our ideas and monitoring them rather than getting caught up in them allows us to decide if those thoughts are necessary or not, and from there we may more readily tap into this throughout the day.The habit of watching thoughts instead of getting caught up in them is one of the most beneficial habits we can get into, and it’ll determine our actions instantly: a calm and grounded person makes different daily decisions to a stressed and anxious person!

10.Positive aspects

If you're new to meditation and the mind is too scary to examine right now, saying affirmations silently or aloud can be a very effective and therapeutic exercise. The term 'affirmation' refers to both emotional support and the act of affirming and stabilising something. We can give ourselves a sense of stability by chanting statements like "I am calm," "I am tranquil," "I am strong," and "I am powerful" right at the start of the day.Our thoughts and words create chemical reactions in the body – a happy thought will encourage the body to create ‘happy’ chemicals, and a negative thought will encourage the body to believe it needs to create ‘negative’ chemicals. Get into the habit of reciting affirmations and your brain will literally ‘re-wire’ itself.

11. To Be Here Now, Breathe Here Now

Breath awareness - paying attention to each inhale and exhale and recognising the quality of the breath – is a quick technique to bring us into the present moment. "The body strives to cling on to the past, while the intellect tries to take us into the future," remarked Leslie Kaminoff. The breath is what keeps us alive." Paying attention to the breath leads us out of the mind's trap and into reality when the mind is active and overflowing with thoughts or chitta vrittis.While thoughts and ruminations are often nothing to do with the situation right in front of us, the breath is a reminder of something that is real, something that it here and now. Movements within a yoga practice are almost always initiated by an inhale or exhale, so by moving with the breath, we move into the present moment. A shallow breath, held high up in the chest indicates stress and also activates the body’s stress response, whereas deeper ‘belly breathing’ where the abdomen is allowed to expand and relax with the breath, calms the nervous system and brings the body and mind into the present resulting in a far more relaxed state of being. If breath awareness can become a habit, we’ll eventually be able to use it instantly through the day to become more aware and alive.

12. Increase your digestive fire

Sister science to yoga According to Ayurveda, the health of our digestive system determines our entire health. We can drink all the green smoothies we want and eat all the organic meals we want, but if our bodies can't effectively absorb, process, and use those nutrients, it's like throwing food away…. The digestive system, also known as Agni, or 'digestive fire,' is strengthened by doing yoga first thing in the morning. The digestive tract is significantly more efficient at expelling toxins and properly metabolising the vitamins and minerals from our foods when circulation is increased and internal organs are gently massaged by yoga postures.

13. Increase mental capacity

Focusing first thing in the morning may not be something we're all used to, but it has a huge impact on our productivity and attentiveness throughout the day. Spend some time practising breath awareness and a few gently hard yoga poses if you're having trouble concentrating at work or school, and your mind will be awakened in no time!

14. The early hours

The hours between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. are said to be the best for meditation and yoga practise since the mind is at its most peaceful and the rest of the world hasn't yet burst into action, so there's a sense of stillness in the air, according to old yogic writings. If these times are too early for you, then….

15. Develop the habit of rising early.

If you're not the kind to spring out of bed every morning to greet the new day, this new habit might just change your mind…! A committed morning practise enables those of us who could easily sleep the day away to make the most of time that would otherwise be wasted. It's the disciplines we wouldn't normally choose that could truly help us the most, just as it's the yoga poses we enjoy the least that we really need to practise. Instead of sleeping in and wasting the day, make it a practise to get up a little earlier to re-introduce yourself to the early time.

16. Extend the advantages

If you generally go to evening yoga sessions, try including morning practises or switching your practise to the morning for 21 days to reap the benefits of the practise for a longer period of time. Surely, a day of greater breath awareness, the ability to be present, healthier digestion, invigorated circulation, and improved mood is better put to use throughout the day than just before bedtime?

17. The outer world is shaped by the inner world.

Our sense of the world around us is entirely generated by our minds, according to the Buddha. You may observe how the world appears to alter magically the moment you leave your yoga class. People on the street appear to be friendlier, your family is easier to get along with, your decisions are more aligned with a healthier lifestyle, and even your boss is pleasant! Here's a hint: it's not the reality that's changed, but rather your mind…. Begin each day by establishing a happy environment within yourself, and the outside world will follow suit.

18. Recognize yourself
    A morning practise is an excellent method to assess whether your actions off the mat are positively or negatively affecting your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. If you feel 'heavy' during a morning practise, it's possible that last night's food wasn't adequately digested or that you ate too late. If your body is tired and aching, it’s a message you’ve been pushing yourself too hard and need to take some time to restore, and if you notice your mind is focussed on one particular thought or worry during meditation, then you know it’s time to listen and take action. By practicing yoga postures daily, you’ll also notice yourself change as the strength and flexibility of both body and mind vastly improve.
19. Get moving!

If you spend most of your day sitting at a desk or in a car, a morning yoga session is exactly what your body needs. Backbends are good for 'un-doing' all the hunching and slouching we do unconsciously during the day, and they can help loosen the muscles around the hips, which are a common source of tension from long periods of sitting. By exercising in the morning, we also remind ourselves of what it feels like to stand with good posture, so you'll become more aware of when you're slouching and avoid back pain before it happens!

20. Begin Right Now

You don't have to be flexible, strong, skinny, vegan, or any other cliché associated with "yoga people" to practise yoga. All you have to do is be yourself, and the practise will take care of the rest. A yoga practise is about discovering who you are beneath the poor habits that have developed over time, the chattering mind, and the aching body. It's not about being able to accomplish amazing poses or sitting in meditation for hours on end. It's all about being your true self. "Begin where you are," as the phrase goes. Use what you've got. "Do your best.