Picture this: you’re starting your day with a sense of inner calm, strength, and clarity, all thanks to the practice of morning yoga at home. Before we unravel the numerous benefits that come with this enriching practice, let’s first take a moment to delve into the heart of yoga and what it signifies.
What Do You Understand About Yoga?
What is it? Is it a form of exercise? Is it meditation? For me, yoga is a way of life. I believe the whole idea behind it is total discipline. It is physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual development. It helps you balance health from a physical, mental and emotional standpoint.
Benefits of Morning Yoga
You can practice yoga in the morning and night as well, although, morning yoga is the best as it cleanses your mind and body. It energizes all day and keeps you disciplined. Let’s explore the benefits of morning yoga!
- Yoga improves flexibility and posture but it’s much more effective in the morning. The fresh air helps us relax our body and make it more flexible.
- We have more energy in the morning and morning yoga enhances it to last all day. Which means more intensity and focus!
- Setting up a morning practice is beneficial as it creates a ritual – it sets the tone for the day. By practicing morning yoga, there are no distractions or tasks that will get in the way – so no excuses for cancelling your session in the morning.
- That fresh morning air helps you deliver more oxygen to the body, breathe better and cleanses your system naturally.
- It also helps your digestive system as metabolism rate is higher in the morning. It increases digestion and keeps all indigestion problems at bay.
- Morning yoga boosts your brainpower and makes your brain more active to study or work.
- It enhances happiness and positivity as it boosts mental clarity and relaxes you. The release of endorphins that early in the morning make your body a more physically comfortable place to live in.
- Disease-fighting white blood cells in the body are able to do their best when our blood flow and lymphatic system have efficient circulation. By moving in a way that feels good first thing in the morning, we essentially ‘wake up’ all the body’s systems, which enhances the flow of circulation and gives the immune system an immediate boost. Gentle inversions like Viparita Karani, Cow Pose and Child Pose are especially effective for stimulating the immune system.
- As a parent, taking time out for your own well being is difficult. Getting up early and practicing morning yoga puts your health first. Only if you are healthy, can you take care of others. A morning yoga practice is a way to know you’ve done something for yourself that day
- Apart from all of the above, morning yoga regulates your sleep rhythm, balances your hormones and helps you build a healthy and consistent routine.
Asanas You Can Practice
Try these yoga poses daily in the morning to increase blood circulation, enhance and stimulate the immune system, improve body function and strengthen your cells, tissues, glands and organs! Also, these poses will help you beat stress, anxiety and depression.
- Suryanamaskar – for over all body workout
- Jivah Bandh – manages and relieves stress
- Simha Mudra – decreases stress and prepares you to face the day by increasing your willpower.
- Sheetali Pranayama – is a process which can cool the body down and give a feeling of calmness.
- Bhramari Pranayama – is one of the great breathing exercises to release the mind of disturbance, anxiety or frustration and get rid of anger.
- Om Recitation – excellent breathing exercises for meditation. Brings stability of mind and improves memory power
- Shavasana – removes nervousness, adds a sense of presence. Very important to start our day peacefully.
- Tratak Drishti – to increase concentration.
- Anulom Vilom Pranayama – is the best way of balancing the Tri Dosas in our body. Our body gets ill when Tri Dosas are not in balance. Vaat, Pitta and Kaffa are known as the Tri Dosas (Tri means “three” and the meaning of dosas is impurities). All three are the cause of all diseases. So, it is important to balance them. The way to do that is to practice Anulom Vilom Pranayama regularly. It is the simplest and best way for this.
- Kapalbhati Pranayama – generates heat in the system to help dissolve toxins and waste matter. It adds luster and beauty to your face and helps your skin glow!
If yoga is practiced regularly in the morning, it will help you face the day with balance and a practical approach. Ensure that you do not eat at least 2-3 hours before you begin your practice. So try morning yoga and do share your feedback and changes with us in the comments below!
To learn more about Pranayama, read this article: https://goqii.com/blog/pranayama/.
To begin practicing yoga subscribe for LIVE interactive sessions with our Yoga experts on GOQii Pro within the GOQii App.
#BeTheForce
Regular exercise has a major effect on the immune system. Staying active supports our immune system in a variety of ways such as reducing inflammation, increasing the presence of innate immune cells and positively affecting our gut microbes – all of which support our body’s defense mechanisms.
With the Omicron variant looming over our heads, there’s one very important thing to realize – the virus attacks people with a compromised or low immune system. A strong and properly functioning immune system helps by protecting you in your daily life as you come into contact with germs and bugs from other people, pets and the environment around you. Without a healthy immune system, you could pick up infections and infectious diseases more easily, and the effects could be serious – even fatal. So let’s look at ways in which we can improve immunity naturally! 
How often do we hear people say, “I am so stressed”? Given the current pandemic scenario, the lockdown and the threat of new variants, we’re sure you might have heard a lot of people say this. While the stress is reasonable, do you know what causes it? Is it the pressure of working from home thwarting your work-life balance, is it the news or could it be the excessive release of stress hormones? If you weren’t aware, just as there are hormones that make you feel good, there’s a stress hormone called Cortisol but it’s not all bad.
Given how high stress levels have been lately due to the pandemic, it is important to manage stress by managing spiking cortisol levels. Dealing with Cortisol can be tricky. If dealt with proper techniques and supplements, one can get the Cortisol levels under control. Here are a few tips to help you out:
