Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

There’s something magical about the early hours of the day. The world is quieter, the air feels fresher, and there’s a stillness that invites reflection and renewal. For many, morning has become the ideal time to step onto the mat and awaken the body, mind, and spirit. At YogaDownload, this week’s theme is Rise, Flow, and Shine!, a celebration of morning yoga and the ways it can set you up for a more vibrant, intentional day. If you’re not yet a morning yogi, don’t worry—there’s no need to commit to a daily 6 a.m. practice right away. Morning yoga is about finding what works for you and creating a routine that leaves you feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to take on whatever comes your way. The best part? If it’s not for you, you can simply adjust or try again another time. But, you just might end up loving it.

Mornings are a fresh start—a blank canvas where we can set the tone for the rest of the day. Yet, how many of us greet the morning with a sense of energy and purpose? For many, the early hours are a blur of alarms, coffee, and rushing out the door. But what if there was a better way to wake up? A way to feel truly energized, focused, and ready to embrace whatever the day brings? That’s where yoga comes in.

You’ve heard the expression “waking up on the wrong side of the bed,” right? Well, some days when your alarm goes off, you and want to burrow beneath the covers instead of getting up and facing the day. Our emotions and moods are always changing. And depending on what’s going on in your life, you may be facing serious challenges at work or in your relationships. We can’t control a lot of what’s happening around us, but we can take steps to control our reaction to them. Yoga and meditation are powerful tools to help us create tangible space in our reaction time to external events. No matter what’s happening in your day to day, practicing yoga in the morning sets you up for a positive experience.

“The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ steady effort in the direction you want to go.” ― Sally Kempton Has someone told you that you MUST practice yoga in the mornings or the evenings or when the moon is full or fill-in-the-blank? It’s simply not true. No hard and fast rules exist. The best time to practice is when you can step onto the mat! In our busy lives, every day can be different and so you can adapt your practice based on your schedule. One of the greatest benefits of practicing yoga at home or on the road is you choose. There are advantages of practicing at different times.

How do you usually begin your day? And have you noticed how different your day is depending on whether you start out with a ritual or start out running around? Mindset or perception is everything and is a vital concept in yoga philosophy. According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, humans suffer because of our perception. If we can change our viewpoint, if we can polish the lens through which we see the world, we will encounter less suffering.

Whether you leap out of bed without the assistance of an alarm clock or you hit snooze five times before you consider throwing off the sheets, morning yoga may be the game-changer you need. Stepping onto your yoga mat first thing can set the tone for your day and start your it on a positive note. Here are three of our favorite reasons to wake up and stretch. Starting your day with even a short yoga class is a natural way to create a positive perspective for your entire day. Yoga is a practice of learning to control your busy mind and direct your attention where you want it to go and elevating your “feel good” hormones can help. Who doesn’t want to feel happier?

Morning rituals set the tone for the rest of the day. How do you begin yours? Do you bury your head under your pillow and hit the snooze button a few times? Automatically pick up your phone and start scrolling? Or do you have a morning routine designed to help you feel your best? Practicing yoga in the morning is one of the greatest ways––yes, we’re biased––to start the day how you intend to live the day. No matter what happens after you’ve stepped off your mat, you’ve done something positive for your well-being.

We all want to enjoy the benefits from a regular yoga practice, like a better mood, vibrant energy, and a stronger more supple body. And a consistent daily practice, however brief, can change your life in profound ways you may not have contemplated. According to the Yoga Sutras, practicing yoga is also considered the path to avoiding future suffering. Yoga Sutra 2.16- heyam duhkham anagatam, in the second chapter of the sutras on Sadhana or practice, loosely translated means, “pain yet to come is to be avoided.” What exactly does Patanjali mean in this thread of yogic wisdom? Essentially, we do have the ability to avoid or minimize future pain and suffering through our routine yoga practice. In other words, what we do today can help alleviate our future suffering. Our human experience includes pain, but through yoga you can shift your perspective and what you may have perceived as pain changes.

Surya Namaskar, also known as Sun Salutations, is a set of helpful yoga asanas that can open up a world of benefits for your physical and mental health. As the name suggests, Surya Namaskar means bowing in reverence to the sun. The sun is the source of all life forms on our planet. Solar energy is the most nourishing life force, without which all living beings (plants, animals, and humans) would cease to exist. In yoga, the Surya Namaskar is a practice that seeks to pay homage to the sun and show gratitude for the importance it holds in our daily lives. While Surya Namaskar is a healthy exercise for your body whenever it is practiced, early morning hours are popularly considered the best and most auspicious for these asanas. Early morning is usually when it is calm outside, helping your mind to also be at its most peaceful and still. This meditative state is beneficial when practicing Surya Namaskar. It allows you to awaken your body, focus your mind, and experience a feeling of gratitude as you begin a new day.

Practicing yoga at night or morning- which is right for you? Yoga, like any exercise, gives you the greatest benefits when you regularly incorporate it into your routine. However you might be wondering which is better, yoga in the morning or the evening. With yoga and getting into a regular practice, it’s important to practice at the time that is best to you. There’s no perfect time that suits absolutely everyone the same, but there’s one golden rule - find a time where there’s no distractions between you and your yoga mat. Whatever time of day is the time that you’ll be the least distracted is the best time of day for you to practice - regardless of whether it’s in the morning or in the evening. Try to practice when you are still feeling awake however!

“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep! You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep! People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep!” -Rumi The snooze button being pressed repeatedly, breakfast on the go, and a general feeling of racing against time to get to where you need to be. Does this sound like your morning everyday? Many people associate the morning with an anxiety ridden mad dash. A mad dash to the finish line that’s ironically the beginning of the day. As easy as it can be to fall into a habit of doing everything on auto-pilot to make it out the door on time, could this be negatively impacting you more then you realize? If you think about it, isn’t the way you start your day going to set the tone for everything that follows? If you begin with chaos and disorder, can you expect to be as connected, productive and happy as you want to be? If you feel like you need to start off the day in a more peaceful and relaxed way, adding morning rituals can be the answer. The sunrise symbolizes new beginnings and beneath all the busyness, the morning holds a special kind of magic that’s always there to connect with. Begin to test out morning rituals and see which ones feel right. Choose morning rituals that make you want to get out of bed in the morning. Make sure you decide on ones that you can make into a habit without dreading. Maybe you can’t dedicate 30 minutes or more of your morning time to rituals, but even 5-10 minutes can make a world of difference. Here are 8 Morning Ritual Ideas for you to Start Your Day with a Clear Mind and Open Heart:

This week we bring you four new classes to help fall asleep, have wonderful dreams, and awake recharged and clear for lovely days. When you were a little kid, you probably battled your parents to stay up as late as possible and avoid an early bedtime. As you transitioned into adulthood, sleep still seemed optional: there can always be so much to do! And, once upon a time, when you were ready to go to sleep, you could lay your head on the pillow and drift off to dreamland. If you are lucky, falling asleep still comes naturally. For many of us, insomnia is an occasional or chronic issue. Our world is zooming at warp-speed and keeping up can launch our nervous systems into overdrive or the “fight or flight response.” Despite physical and mental exhaustion, the minute we try to go to sleep, an endless reel begins playing through our brains. We’re unable to shut off the movie documenting every detail of our day or the issues we’re contending with at any given moment. Sleep is essential for us to rejuvenate and heal our physical, mental, and emotional health. Yoga to the rescue! With the appropriate yoga practice, you can learn to not only tire out your body, but also quiet your mind and calm your heart for a solid night’s sleep.