Why is it good to practice yoga in the morning?
1) It’s easier to focus the mind
If you don’t practice yoga in the morning and try to practice in the afternoon or evening, it’s possible that your mind will be busier, thinking about things that have happened in the day already, and things that perhaps you still need to do. Your mind may still be busy in the mornings, but it’s easier to not get so involved with thoughts and impressions and stay focused on the practice. You can keep bringing your attention back to the newness of the day, the possibilities that lye ahead within it. It’s a little bit easier to let go of thoughts about the past and you move your body and focus on your breath.
2) You have an empty stomach
It’s good to practice yoga before you have eaten. It’s great to set your alarm a little earlier than usual, have a cup of tea and get on your mat. It is not advised to practice yoga with a full stomach, as your energy is needed to digest your food. If you start exercising and stretching, the blood and energy will be needed in the muscles and joints, thus taking it always from your digestive system and meaning that the digestive process will be disrupted and your food won’t be digested properly. Saying that, if you always wake up really hungry, you can eat something small like a banana or a handful of nuts before you start your practice. Just don’t have a full english and then try to do your sun salutations.
3) It’s safer for your body
When we first get out of bed, our muscles are cold and will may feel a bit stiff. This may seem like the opposite of how you want to be to practice yoga, but it’s actually much safer. When we practice yoga in the afternoons, the activities of the day have warmed our muscles, making us more flexible, but more likely to push our bodies to places that it can’t go. Practicing in the morning allows us to gently and safely warm up our bodies because we can feel it’s limitations.
4) It set’s you up for the rest of the day
After practicing yoga in the morning you will go about your daily life with more clarity, feeling more steady and balanced. Everything will happen with a greater sense of ease and acceptance, calmness and strength. Your whole day is different if you have practiced yoga before doing anything else.
5) Establishing a routine – practicing at the same time every day
When you are first starting to develop your morning routine, it may feel quite difficult. Getting up a little earlier is never an easy thing to get into the habit of doing. But once you get over the fact that you’ve lost 30 minutes (or however long you practice for) in bed, AND you acknowledge that you feel so much more energized and ready for your day than if you had pressed snooze the whole time, it becomes a lot easier! And they say that it takes 21 days for a habit to form, so after 3 weeks have passed, getting out of bed and onto your mat will be automatic. You won’t remember any other way, nor will you want to.
I hope this inspires you to start your own morning practice. If you need help with developing a home sequence please get in touch!
For a information about morning yoga classes in Palm Cove, Queensland, click here.