Depending on your schedule and your natural rhythm, practicing yoga first thing in the morning might already be part of your routine. If you’re on the other end of the spectrum and the idea of pairing your yoga practice with the rising of the sun makes you roll over and hit the snooze button, please hear us out and consider trying something new. We promise everyone will love this five-part series of quick Vinyasa classes from expert yoga teacher Jackie Casal Mahrou.
Here’s why a morning ritual is a powerful way to start your day!
Set a Positive Intention for Your Day
By starting your day with mindful movement and breathwork, you create a powerful foundation for a day filled with gratitude, productivity, and mental clarity. When you activate an intention for practice and embody it on the yoga mat, you can carry it with you throughout the rest of the day. One of our greatest lessons from yoga is that we cannot control external events, we can only control how we react to them. By filling our well first thing in the morning, we bolster our ability to roll with whatever comes our way.
Boost Immunity and Well-Being
One of the best ways to stay healthy is to make sure our internal systems are operating at optimum levels. Yoga is an excellent way to stimulate our lymphatic system, which is responsible for moving harmful toxins through and out of our bodies, thus keeping us healthy. Increased circulation raises energy levels and could even eliminate your desire for caffeine. Instead of automatically reaching for coffee, try flowing on the mat first and you may feel so energized you don’t need any more stimulation.
Stepping onto our mats also stokes Agni or our digestive fire and ensures we are processing our food properly. According to Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science, and many Western practitioners, roughly 70% of our immune system resides in our gut. Twists and forward folds encourage stagnant energy to flow more freely by providing gentle compression and massaging of our internal organs. Practicing first thing in the morning boosts digestion, circulation, thus strengthening our immunity.
Take Care of You First
You know how on planes during an emergency, they encourage you to put on your own oxygen mask before helping anyone else? We cannot show up fully for others in our life, be it professionally or personally unless we are taking care of ourselves first. Look at stepping onto your yoga mat first thing in the morning as your act of self-care and a way to fill your own well. By practicing in the morning, you ensure you won’t miss the chance to be your strongest, most balanced self all day long.
Set your alarm earlier this week and see how you feel!