The benefits of yoga are numerous. From increasing flexibility to reducing stress, yoga is a healthy addition to any lifestyle, and a gateway to wellness that every body can enjoy. If you’ve already discovered the benefits of yoga, you’re going to love what comes next.

 

While yoga is beneficial any time of day, practicing yoga in the morning lets you reap all the benefits of regular yoga, with a few add-ons reserved for those brave enough to face the world before sunrise.

Practicing morning yoga allows your body to benefit long after you leave your mat, and can both renew you and calm you before the day has even begun. Here’s how:

 

5 WONDERFUL REASONS TO START YOUR DAY WITH YOGA

1. SET YOUR BREATH

Practicing yoga first thing in the morning helps you set your breath for the entire day. Work can be stressful. Staying at home with kids can be stressful. Even grocery shopping for delicious additions to your live food dietcan be stressful.

We don’t often get the opportunity to set our breath for the day but when we do, it can help us regulate everything; from the way we deal with stressful situations to the way we approach relationships at home, and in a work environment. Practice yoga in the morning and start your day on the right foot (or both feet, depending on the pose).

2. APPROACH THE DAY WITH OPTIMISM

Endorphins, endorphins, endorphins! It’s not just a myth used by fitness buffs to get themselves out of bed and into the gym. It’s a fact! Yoga, like many forms of physical activity, triggers a flood of endorphins, which are natural painkillers and feel-good chemicals released from the brain.

Starting your day with yoga pretty much guarantees that you wake up on the right side of the bed. So, ditch the rose-colored glasses, grab your yoga mat and avoid hitting the snooze button at all cost! It’s the most productive way to ensure that the glass is always half full.

3. INCREASE YOUR ENERGY

People who yoga before going into the office, do so with increased energy and self-esteem, having already accomplished a full body-mind workout by the time most people are done eating their breakfast.

Whether you’re saluting the sun or simply resting in child’s pose, the flow found in yoga lubricates your muscles, loosens your joints and ensures your body has the energy it needs to get you through the work day (and beyond).

4. IGNITE HEALTHY HABITS

Did you ever notice that physical activity and healthy eating habits nearly always go hand in hand? The more calories you’re burning, the more you crave food designed to fuel your body, in place of fillers loaded with sugars designed to keep you going for short periods of time.

When you make the commitment to practice yoga every morning, you’re making a commitment to introduce healthier habits into your daily life. Need a little help getting started? Try our Ultimate 5-Week Detox Challenge, a gradual detox you can do on your own time that is designed to introduce sustainable healthy habits into your daily routine.

5. PRIORITIZE SLEEP

Eight hours of sleep? Who needs it? The truth is, we all do.

Lost sleep is something you can never reclaim. While you might think you can operate on 5-6 hours of sleep, a healthy body starts really does start with at least 8 hours of sleep, during which your body can recover and your mind can enjoy some much needed downtime.

Scheduling a morning activity can help motivate you to go to bed earlier and give your body the rest it deserves. Set your alarm and work backwards 8 hours. That’s what time you should be hitting the sack. Don’t cheat your mind and body out of the opportunity to function at full speed. Get a good night’s sleep and wake up replenished, refreshed, and ready for anything.